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1860-1945 


Life  and  Letters 


OF 


Henry  Van   Rensselaer 


Priest  of  the  Society  of  Jesus 


BY    THE 

REV.  EDWARD  P.  SPILLANE,  S.J. 

(Permissu    Superiorum.) 


FORDHAM  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

FORDHAM     Un\VERSI7\ 

NEW  YORK 

1&03 


J32-S 

■ 


Copyright,   1908, 

BY    THE 

REV.  EDWARD  P.  SPILLANE.  SJ. 


To  the   Men 

Followers,  Penitents  and  Friends 

of  a  Noble  Priest 

Who  Spent  his  Life 

In  promoting  their  Spiritual  Welfare 

This  Tribute 

To  Their  Faithful  "  Father  Van  " 

is 

Respectfully  Inscribed. 


IRibil  ©bstat: 

REMIGIUS  LAFORT,  S.T.L. 

Censor  Deputatus. 


flmprimatur: 

JOANNES   M.    FARLEY 

Archiepiscopus  Neo-Eboracensis. 


Neo-Eboraci, 

die  4  Octobris,  1908. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

A  WORD  of  explanation  as  to  the  sources  from  which 
this  life  of  Father  Van  Rensselaer  has  been  drawn 
may  not  be  amiss. 

The  story  of  the  early  history  of  the  patroons  is  found 
in  the  Magazine  of  American  History  in  an  exhaustive  paper 
on  "  The  Van  Rensselaer  Manor,"  contributed  by  the 
editor,  Martha  J.  Lamb.  Further  details  have  been  gleaned 
from  a  carefully  written  article  which  appeared  some  years 
ago  in  the  columns  of  the  New  York  Sun. 

The  story  of  Father  Van  Rensselaer's  conversion  is  told 
in  an  autobiographical  sketch  found  among  his  papers  after 
his  death.  This  sketch  is  particularly  valuable  as  revealing 
the  inner  workings  of  his  soul,  his  habits  of  thought  and 
temperament,  the  motives  actuating  his  conduct,  the  long 
and  arduous  search  for  the  truth,  and  the  happiness  with 
which  his  soul  was  filled  when  he  found  himself  at  last, 
as  he  says,  "  over  the  wall,  and  safe  in  the  bosom  of  the 
One  True  Church." 

It  must  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  the  sketch  was 
written  a  quarter  of  a  century  after  most  of  the  events  re- 
corded therein.  It  is  unquestionably  a  faithful  account  of 
what  happened  at  that  time  so  far  as  memory  served  him. 
Due  allowance,  therefore,  should  be  made  for  the  disturbed 
condition  of  a  mind  at  a  period  when  it  was  going  through 
most  harrowing  experiences ;  "  for,"  to  quote  Cardinal 
Newman,  "  who  can  know  himself,  and  the  subtle  influences 
which  act  upon  him  ?  and  who  can  recollect,  at  the  distance 

v 


INTRODUCTORY 

of  twenty-five  years,  all  that  he  once  knew  about  his  thoughts 
and  his  deeds,  and  that,  during  a  portion  of  his  life  when 
even  at  the  time  his  observation,  whether  of  himself  or 
of  the  external  world,  was  less  than  before  or  after,  by 
very  reason  of  the  perplexity  and  dismay  which  weighed 
upon  him, — when,  though  it  would  be  most  unthankful  to 
imply  that  he  had  not  all-sufficient  light  amid  his  darkness, 
yet  a  darkness  it  emphatically  was?  "  * 

The  autobiographical  sketch  was  originally  written  in  the 
first  person  and  was  reproduced  verbatim  in  the  pages  of 
The  Messenger.  As  incorporated  in  this  life,  the  form 
has  been  somewhat  changed.  Facts  have  been  separated 
from  opinions,  the  narration  of  events  detached  from  the  dis- 
cussion of  religion,  in  the  belief  that  the  logical  processes 
which  led  to  Father  Van  Rensselaer's  conversion  would 
stand  out  in  bolder  relief,  and  the  sketch  be  more  in  keeping 
with  the  requirements  of  a  biography.  So  the  first  person 
has  been  retained,  as  a  rule,  only  when  he  describes  his 
mental  attitude.  The  letters  from  Oxford  were  an  unex- 
pected find.  Father  Van  Rensselaer  up  to  the  day  of  his 
death  never  suspected  their  existence.  The  friend  to  whom 
they  were  written  thought  they  had  been  destroyed,  and  dis- 
covered them  only  after  a  repeated  and  prolonged  search. 
They  will  be  found  in  almost  every  particular  remarkably 
corroborative  of  the  later  narrative,  and  give  very  interest- 
ing information  on  the  daily  life  of  a  student,  and  the  charac- 
ter of  the  Dons  at  the  University  of  Oxford.  The 
portraits  given  of  Dr.  Liddon  and  Dr.  King  will  be  appre- 
ciated by  those  who  are  at  all  interested  in  the  more  recent 
history  of  Oxford.  After  the  withdrawal  of  Newman  from 
the  classic  halls  of  the  University  and  from  the  historic  pulpit 

*  Apologia,  N.  Y.,  1865,  p.  134. 

vi 


INTRODUCTORY 

of  St.  Mary's,  Oxford  might  well  be  termed  a  City  of  Con- 
fusion, and  these  letters,  though  covering  only  the  short 
period  of  a  single  year,  give  a  very  fair  insight  into  the  topsy- 
turvy condition  of  affairs  prevailing  there  a  generation  later. 
In  editing  them,  much  had  to  be  omitted,  as  it  was  of  a 
character  too  personal  for  publication.  Attention  may  well 
be  called  to  the  marvellous  contrast  prevailing  between  the 
letters  from  Oxford  and  those  written  after  Father  Van 
Rensselaer  was  received  into  the  Church  and  enrolled  among 
the  members  of  the  Society  of  Jesus.  The  same  man  speaks 
in  both,  but  in  the  earlier  ones  he  is  harassed  by  doubt  and 
misgivings,  in  the  later  his  mind  and  heart  are  both  at  rest 
and  in  the  possession  of  perfect  peace. 

The  biographer  has  only  a  word  to  add.  His  work  in 
piecing  together  the  narrative  has  been  a  work  of  love.  Dur- 
ing twenty-eight  years  he  knew  Father  Van  Rensselaer 
intimately,  and  was  associated  with  him  as  a  student  of 
philosophy  and  theology,  as  a  professor  in  college,  as  a 
priest  in  the  ministry.  The  reminiscences  covering  that 
period  are  for  the  most  part  personal,  and  on  that  account, 
it  is  hoped,  will  the  better  fill  out  the  portrait  of  his  friend, 
which  is  outlined  in  the  autobiographical  sketch  and  in  the 
letters  which  appear  in  the  volume.  The  writer  makes 
grateful  acknowledgement  to  the  sister  of  Father  Van  Rens- 
selaer, in  religion  Sister  Dolores,  for  invaluable  assistance 
by  furnishing  letters  and  biographical  data ;  to  Father  Fran- 
cis Mackall  of  Midland,  Maryland,  for  the  Oxford  letters, 
and  to  Father  Wynne  and  Father  Campbell  of  The  Mes- 
senger staff. 

Edward  P.  Spillane,  S.J. 


Vll 


CONTENTS. 

Introductory V 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I  Ancestry  and  Family         1 

II  Boyhood  and  Early  Life 12 

III  General  Theological  Seminary,  New  York  17 

IV  Germany   and   Oxford 24 

V  Letters  from  Oxford 37 

VI  Letters  from  Oxford  (Continued)       ....  86 

VII  Anglican  Deacon 126 

VIII  His   Conversion 132 

IX  A  Catholic l-±5 

X  The  Jesuit  Novice 156 

XI  Woodstock  College 195 

XII  The  Class  Room 223 

XIII  Ordained  a  Priest 233 

XIV  Work  in  the  Ministry 246 

XV  Tertianship  and  Messenger  of  the  Sacred 

Heart 260 

XVI  Xavier  Club  and  Kindred  Bodies     ....  264 

XVII  Various  Works  of  Zeal 2?4 

XVIII  With  the  Fire  Laddies  and  the  "  Finest  "     .  280 

XIX  Last  Illness  and  Death 284 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

FACING  PAGE 

Henry  Van  Rensselaer,  S  J Frontispiece 

Col.  Henry  Van  Rensselaer 8 

Henry  Van  Rensselaer  in  Boyhood 14 

Henry  Van  Rensselaer  at  Oxford 60 

Iffley  Church,  Oxford 88 

Christ  Church   Cathedral,  Oxford 112 

Rev.  John  Prendergast,  SJ 156 

Jesuit  Novitiate,  Roehampton,  England     ....  168 
Elizabeth  Ray  King,  Mother  of  Rev.  Henry  Van 

Rensselaer 186 

Church  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  New  York  City     .     .  252 

Little  Ones  of  Nazareth  Day  Nursery 276 


CHAPTER  I. 
Ancestry  and  Family. 

THE  name  of  Van  Rensselaer  has  always  been  a  familiar 
one  in  the  history  of  the  Empire  State.  The  family 
representative  bore  the  ancient  Dutch  title  of  Patroon,  and 
in  the  days  of  English  ascendancy  in  America  that  of  Lord 
of  the  Manor.  Their  titles  fell  into  disuse  during  the  Revo- 
lution, but  their  vast  holdings  in  land  remained  until  the 
middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  their  family  and  social 
distinction  down  to  the  present  day. 

The  founder  of  the  family  in  America  was  Kilian  Van 
Rensselaer.  He  was  born  in  1595,  and  was  a  descendant  of 
a  long  line  of  worthy  citizens  of  Amsterdam.  The  manor 
from  which  the  family  took  its  name  is  still  called  Rensse- 
laer, and  is  situated  about  three  miles  south-east  of  Nykerk 
in  Holland.  It  was  originally  an  estate  the  possession  of 
which  conferred  nobility. 

Kilian  Van  Rensselaer  took  an  active  part  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Dutch  West  India  Company,  furnishing  the  cor- 
poration with  ships  of  his  own  and  more  than  once  advanc- 
ing money  to  save  its  credit.  He  also  sent  an  agent  to  trade 
with  the  Indians  for  land  on  the  v/est  side  of  the  Hudson 
River  from  twelve  miles  south  of  Albany  to  Smacks  Island, 
"  stretching  two  days  into  the  interior,"  and  eventually  ef- 
fected the  purchase  of  all  the  land  on  the  east  side  of  the 
river,  both  north  and  south  of  Fort  Orange,  and  "  far  into 
the  wilderness."  This  great  feudal  demesne,  which,  com- 
prised the  present  counties  of  Albany,  Columbia  and  Rens- 

1 


LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

selaer,  received  the  name  of  Rensselaerswyck.  The  estate 
was  forty-eight  miles  long  and  twenty-four  miles  wide, 
while  the  Hudson  divided  it  into  two  equal  parts.  It  could 
not  have  been  situated  more  advantageously,  as  the  waters 
of  the  Hudson  connected  with  the  Atlantic  and,  through  the 
Mohawk,  with  the  great  waterways  of  the  North  and  West. 

Van  Rensselaer  established  his  manor  house  at  the  con- 
fluence of  the  two  rivers,  a  position  which,  at  a  time  when 
the  knowledge  of  the  geography  of  x\merica  scarcely  ex- 
tended beyond  its  coastline,  might  have  been  justly  looked 
upon  as  the  key  to  the  whole  continent.  Upon  the  territory 
once  forming  this  great  estate  have  since  sprung  up  thriving 
towns  and  villages,  and  cities  like  Albany,  Troy,  Rensselaer 
and  Schenectady. 

Kilian  Van  Rensselaer  sent  over  sturdy  settlers  with  their 
families,  servants  and  household  goods.  His  colony  grew 
and  prospered,  the  soil  was  tilled,  comfortable  houses  were 
built,  schools  and  churches  founded,  and  order  and  method 
established  everywhere.  He  died  in  1644.  Strange  to  say, 
there  is  no  record  of  his  ever  having  visited  America. 

It  would  make  interesting  reading  to  follow  the  fortunes 
of  the  successive  patroons  who  ruled  over  Rensselaerswyck. 
Few  of  them  there  were  who  did  not  leave  an  impression  on 
the  political,  social  or  military  history  of  their  time. 

Jan  Baptist  Van  Rensselaer,  the  third  patroon,  was  a  half 
brother  of  his  predecessor,  Johannes.  The  latter  had  once 
or  twice  visited  his  great  possessions  in  New  York,  but  he, 
too,  for  the  most  part  resided  in  Holland.  In  1658  Jan 
Baptist  also  returned  to  Holland,  where  he  ended  his  days. 

Conspicuous  in  the  family  was  a  clergyman,  the  Rev. 
Nicholaus  Van  Rensselaer,  the  eighth  child  of  the  first  pa- 
troon and  brother  of  the  second.     He  had  been  licensed  by 

2 


ANCESTRY   AND   FAMILY 

Charles  I  to  preach  in  the  Dutch  Church  at  Westminster, 
and,  recommended  by  James,  Duke  of  York,  he  came  to  New 
York  to  fill  one  of  the  Dutch  pulpits  in  the  Province.  The 
dominie  died  in  Albany,  and  his  widow  married  Robert 
Livingston,  the  founder  of  the  Livingston  family  in 
America. 

Jeremias,  the  next  Director  of  Rensselaerswyck,  and 
brother  to  Jan  Baptist,  was  deservedly  popular  for  his  pru- 
dent management  of  affairs  during  sixteen  years.  He  ac- 
quired great  influence  among  the  Indians  and  won  the 
respect  of  the  French  in  Canada.  His  correspondence,  which 
is  still  extant,  evinces  no  little  native  talent  as  well  as  enor- 
mous industry.  His  autograph  is  remarkable  for  its  beauty 
and  is  one  of  the  most  characteristic  to  be  found  in  the 
records  of  the  century.  He  was  President  of  the  Landtag, 
or  Diet,  which  five  months  before  the  surrender  of  the 
province  to  the  English  had  been  summoned  to  New  York 
to  discuss  the  affairs  of  the  colony.  When  the  English  came 
into  possession  of  New  York,  he  declined  to  cede  to  the  new 
government  the  town  of  Albany,  which  he  claimed  as  a  part 
of  Rensselaerswyck.  After  protracted  negotiation.  Gov- 
ernor Dongan  in  person  visited  the  patroon,  and  obtained 
from  him  a  formal  concession  of  his  feudal  right  over  the 
miniature  capital  of  the  future  State,  along  with  sixteen 
miles  of  territory  extending  into  the  country  westward.  In 
the  following  year,  1686,  Albany  was  incorporated  as  a 
city. 

Jeremias'  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Oloff  Stevenson  Van 
Courtlandt,  the  first  of  the  family  of  that  name  in  New 
York;  their  daughter,  Maria  Van  Rensselaer,  married  Peter 
Schuyler,  the  first  Mayor  of  Albany. 

Stephen  Van  Rensselaer  III,  the  last  of  the  patroons,  and 

3 


LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

perhaps  the  most  distinguished  in  that  long  line  of  dis- 
tinguished men,  was  destined  to  bridge  the  chasm  which  ex- 
isted between  two  opposite  political  systems.  Born  in  1764, 
the  subject  of  a  King  and  the  scion  of  a  feudal  aristocracy, 
with  immense  inherited  estates  and  chartered  baronial  rights, 
he  favored  from  the  first  the  new  political  system  in 
America,  and  was  one  of  the  staunchest  upholders  of  popular 
sovereignty.  His  father  having  died,  he  was  educated  by 
his  grandfather,  Philip  Livingston,  who  was  one  of  the 
signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  In  due  course 
he  was  graduated  from  Harvard  with  high  honors.  Before 
he  was  of  age,  he  married  Margaret,  the  daughter  of  General 
Philip  Schuyler,  thus  transmitting  to  his  posterity  the  blood 
of  five  of  the  great  Colonial  families,  Schuyler,  Livingston, 
Van  Courtlandt,  Ten  Broek,  and  Van  Rensselaer.  After 
his  graduation,  he  kept  up  his  studies  and  personally  man- 
aged his  large  estates.  In  the  period  succeeding  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  no  man  in  the  State  carried  with  him  greater 
personal  influence.  He  was  a  friend  of  Washington,  and 
was  successively  a  member  of  the  Assembly  and  of  the  State 
Senate,  as  well  as  twice  Lieutenant  Governor  of  the  State, 
when  John  Jay  was  Governor.  In  the  war  of  1812,  when 
Governor  Tompkins  summoned  the  State  Militia  into  imme- 
diate service,  Van  Rensselaer  was  appointed  to  take  chief 
command;  nor  did  he  hesitate  to  leave  his  luxurious  home 
and  march  to  the  frontier  with  the  utmost  dispatch.  Among 
his  officers  were  many  of  his  kinsmen,  notably  Colonel  Solo- 
mon Van  Rensselaer,  who  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of 
Queenstown  Heights. 

After  the  war  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer  entered  heart  and 
soul  into  every  project  which  he  considered  advantageous 
to  the  State.     He  declared  his  willingness  to  construct,  at 

4 


.     ANCESTRY  AND   FAMILY 

his  own  expense,  the  whole  of  the  Erie  Canal,  so  confident 
was  he  of  the  feasibility  of  the  enterprise.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  Congress  from  1822  to  1829,  and  cast  the  deciding 
vote  in  the  election  of  John  Quincy  Adams  to  the  Presi- 
dency of  the  Republic.  During  all  these  years  he  was  Regent 
of  the  University  of  the  State,  and  subsequently  became  its 
Chancellor. 

His  wife  dying,  he  married  again,  his  second  wife  being 
Cornelia  Paterson,  daughter  of  Judge  William  Paterson, 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  who  was  also  Governor  of  New 
Jersey. 

In  1824  he  established,  and  in  1826  incorporated,  the  first 
scientific  school  in  the  New  World,  and  he  defrayed  fully 
one-half  its  current  expenses.  His  own  words,  which  he 
put  in  the  charter,  show  how  far  he  was  ahead  of  the  times : 
"  A  school  to  qualify  teachers  to  instruct  in  the  application 
of  experimental  chemistry,  philosophy  and  natural  history, 
to  agriculture,  domestic  economy  and  to  the  arts  and  manu- 
factures." This  school,  now  known  as  the  Rensselaer  Poly- 
technic Institute  of  Troy,  will  always  be  a  memorial  to  the 
philanthropy,  far-sightedness,  and  statesmanship  of  its 
founder.  In  1825,  Yale  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of 
LL.D. 

Stephen  Van  Rensselaer  III  left  twelve  children,  three  by 
his  first  and  nine  by  his  second  wife.  Of  these,  Stephen  Van 
Rensselaer  IV,  usually  referred  to  as  the  Young  Patroon, 
was  the  eldest.  To  him  had  descended  the  bulk  of  the  great 
Van  Rensselaer  estate  or  plantation,  and  by  him,  through 
political  causes,  it  was  dissipated  forever.  Although  his 
father  was  legally  the  last  of  the  patroons,  yet  the  people 
of  his  time,  by  common  consent,  gave  him  that  title,  and  as 
such  he  will  go  down  to  history. 

5 


LIFE   OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

The  father  of  the  future  Rev.  Henry  Van  Rensselaer  was 
General  Henry  Van  Rensselaer,  brother  of  Stephen  IV,  and 
fifth  son  of  Stephen  III.  He,  too,  holds  a  distinguished 
place  in  the  civil  and  military  history  of  his  time.  A  grad- 
uate of  West  Point  in  1827,  he  served  later  as  lieutenant  in 
the  United  States  Army.  In  1841  he  was  sent  to  Congress, 
and  during  the  Civil  War  he  held  the  rank  of  Colonel  while 
Chief  of  Staff  to  General  Scott,  upon  whose  retirement,  in 
November,  1861,  he  was  made  Inspector  General  of  the 
United  States  Army.  He  died  of  typhoid  fever  just  before 
the  close  of  the  war.  The  following  sketch  appeared  in  a 
Xew  York  paper  shortly  after  his  death : — 

"  Colonel  Henry  Van  Rensselaer,  Inspector  General  of 
the  United  States  Army,  died  on  Wednesday,  March  23d, 
of  typhoid  fever,  at  Cincinnati,  where  he  was  stationed. 

"  Colonel  Van  Rensselaer  was  graduated  from  the  Mili- 
tary Academy  at  West  Point  in  1831,  having  passed  through 
the  four  years'  discipline  of  that  school  without  incurring  a 
single  demerit.  This  fact  indicates  the  character  of  the 
man — an  ever-present  sense  of  duty,  which  would  not  per- 
mit the  neglect  of  an  obligation  once  assumed.  Though 
young  when  entering  the  Academy,  he  formed  and  held  res- 
olutely to  the  purpose  of  complying  in  all  respects,  as  far 
as  possible,  with  its  requirements.  The  writer  dwells  the 
more  upon  this  rare  trait  of  character,  for  that  he  had  a  son 
at  the  Military  Academy  at  the  time,  whose  good  fortune  it 
was  to  become  the  room-mate  of  Colonel  Van  Rensselaer, 
and  who-  there  acquired  from  his  example  that  love  of  order, 
that  diligence  of  application,  that  fidelity  to  the  most  mi- 
nute as  well  as  the  more  important  details  of  duty,  which  go 
so  far  to  make  up  the  character  of  a  useful  and  trustworthy 

6 


ANCESTRY   AND   FAMILY 

man,  whether  soldier  or  citizen.  Mr.  Van  Rensselaer  did 
not  remain  long-  in  the  Army,  and  having  married  in  1833,  a 
daughter  of  Hon.  J.  A.  King,  of  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  he  went  to 
take  possession  of  a  patrimonial  landed  estate  in  St.  Law- 
rence County,  where  he  spent  many  years  in  the  active  pur- 
suits of  agriculture,  and  dispensing  a  liberal  and  elegant 
hospitality. 

"  In  1841  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives from  his  district,  and  served  with  his  accustomed 
punctuality  and  diligence  through  the  three  sessions  of  the 
27th  Congress.  Political  life,  however,  had  few  attractions 
for  him,  and  he  returned  willingly  to  his  home  and  his  ac- 
customed occupations. 

"  For  some  years  past,  however,  and  as  his  family  grew 
up,  Mr.  Van  Rensselaer  had  been  an  inhabitant  of  this  city, 
where  the  outbreak  of  the  Rebellion  found  him  in  quiet  and 
retired  private  life.  But  when  the  Rebel  cannon  against 
Fort  Sumter  aroused  our  Northern  blood  and  national  fidel- 
ity, true  to  his  early  training  as  a  soldier,  and  to  his  instincts 
as  a  patriot,  he  at  once  wrote  to  General  Scott,  then  in  com- 
mand of  our  forces,  to  ask  for  an  opportunity,  as  a  soldier 
educated  by  the  Nation,  to  strike  a  blow  for  the  national 
cause.  The  General  immediately  sent  for  him  to  Washing- 
ton, took  him  into  his  military  family,  and  with  the  rank  of 
Brigadier-General,  made  him  chief  of  his  staff. 

"  Of  this  position  he  faithfully  and  intelligently  discharged 
the  duties  until  the  relinquishment  by  General  Scott,  under 
the  pressure  of  physical  infirmities,  of  his  high  command. 
Upon  the  recommendation  of  his  General,  however,  the 
commission  of  Inspector-General  in  the  regular  Army,  with 
the  rank  of  Colonel,  was  at  once  conferred  by  the  Presi- 
dent upon  Colonel  Van  Rensselaer.     In  the  duties  of  that 

7 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

post  he  has  ever  since  been  assiduously  engaged,  and  to  them 
he,  in  fact,  yielded  up  his  life — refusing,  though  laboring 
under  illness,  to  ask  for  a  furlough — while  the  official  calls 
upon  him  were  urgent. 

"  The  insidious  disease  made  rapid  progress.  Informed  of 
his  serious  illness — yet  not  apprehending  imminent  danger, 
his  wife  and  daughter  hurried  to  Cincinnati,  but  only  had 
the  consolation  of  ministering  by  his  dying  bed. 

"  He  was  aware  of  his  approaching  death,  and  prepared 
for  it  as  a  Christian  soldier.  In  his  last  delirious  moments 
his  mind  still  ran  upon  his  public  duties — upon  the  condition 
of  the  troops — upon  the  progress  of  the  war — and  he  died 
in  the  cause  of  his  country,  an  earnest  and  unblemished 
soldier." 

A  summary  of  his  life  and  services,  in  Father  Van  Rens- 
selaer's handwriting,  is  preserved  among  the  family  papers. 
It  reads  like  a  page  taken  from  the  records  of  the  Military 
Academy  at  West  Point. 

U.  S.  Military  Academy. 

NUMBER  CLASS  RANK 

648.    Born  N.  Y.     Henry  Van  Rensselaer.    Ap'd  N.  Y.  20 
Military  History. — Cadet  at  the  U.  S.  Military  Academy, 
from  July  1,  1827,  to  July  1,  1831,  when  he  was  graduated 
and  promoted  in  the  Army  to 

Bvt.  Second  Lieut.,  5th  Infantry,  July  1,  1831.     On 
leave  of  absence  July  1,  1831,  to  Jan.  27,  1832. 
Resigned  Jan.  27,  1832. 
Civil  History. — Farmer,  near  Ogdensburg,  N.  Y.,  1834-55. 
Aide-de-Camp  with   the   rank   of   Colonel   to   Governor 
Seward,  of  New  York,  1839-40. 

8 


COL.    HENRY   VAX   RENSSELAER 


ANCESTRY  AND   FAMILY 

Member  of  the  U.  S.  House  of  Representatives,  from 
the  State  of  New  York,  1841-43. 

President  of  the  American  Mineral  Company — of  the 
Port  Henry  Iron  Ore  Company — and  of  the  Consolidated 
Franklinite  Company,  1855-60. 
Military  History. — Served  during  the  Rebellion  of  the 
Seceding-  States,  1861-64:  as  Volunteer  Aide-de-Camp, 
with  the  rank  of  Colonel,  April  29  to  Aug.  5,  1861,  and  as 
Regular  Aide-de-Camp,  Aug.  5,  1861,  to  Nov.  1,  1861. 

(Col.  Staff — Aide-de-Camp  to  the  General-in-Chief, 
Aug.  5,  1861.) 

Bvt.  Lieut.,  General  Scott,  General-in-Chief,  at  the 
Headquarters  of  the  Army,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  on  leave 
of  absence  and  awaiting  orders,  Nov.  12. 

(Colonel  Staff — Inspector  General,  Nov.  12,  1861.) 

1861,  to  Mar.  20,  1862— as  Inspector  General,  1st 
Army  Corps. 

Mar.  20  to  Apl.  4,  1862— Department  of  the  Rappa- 
hannock. 

Apl.  4,  to  Aug.  12,  1862— 3d  Army  Corps,  Aug.  12  to 
Sept.  6,  1862,  and  Department  of  the  Ohio,  Sept.  17,  1862, 
to  Mar.  23,  1864. 

Died  Mar.  23,  1864,  at  Cincinnati,  O.     Aged  54. 

Among  the  family  treasures  is  an  autograpn  letter  ad- 
dressed by  General  Scott  on  his  retirement  from  the  Army 
to  his  Chief  of  Staff.     It  reads  as  follows : 

"  Adieu,  my  dear  Colonel  Van  Rensselaer.  No  General 
has  ever  had  greater  cause  to  be  proud  of  his  staff  than  I 
have  had  in  you  and  my  other  dear  friends,  Colonels  Town- 
send,   Hamilton,   Cullen  and  Wright — all  dear  friends. 

"  Nov.  9,  1861.  Winfield  Scott." 

9 


LIFE   OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

If  he  was  beholden  to  his  father  for  his  name,  and  for  the 
prestige  which,  even  in  America,  despite  the  open  profession 
of  democracy,  attaches  to  descent  from  one  of  the  great 
Colonial  families,  Father  Van  Rensselaer  was  under  still 
greater  indebtedness  to  his  mother,  Elizabeth  King  Van 
Rensselaer,  for  the  kindly  traits  which  were  so  character- 
istic of  him  from  his  earliest  years,  and  which  became  more 
manifest  in  his  apostolic  work  as  a  priest  when  he  was 
brought  into  contact  with  the  poverty-stricken  and  the  un- 
fortunate. 

The  founder  of  the  King  family  in  America,  John  King, 
came  from  Kent,  England,  and  settled  in  Boston  in  1700. 
Later  the  family  moved  to  Scarborough,  Maine,  where 
Father  Van  Rensselaer's  great  grandfather  was  born  in 
1755.  Graduating  from  Harvard  in  1777,  he  studied  law 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1784.  He  was  elected  to 
the  Continental  Congress  and  took  a  prominent  part  in  the 
convention  which  in  1787  framed  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.  While  in  New  York  he  married  Mary  Alsop, 
the  only  daughter  of  a  prominent  New  York  merchant,  and 
for  his  wife's  sake  determined  to  live  near  her  father. 

He  became  a  Senator  of  the  United  States  in  1789,  the 
first  Senator  elected  from  the  State  of  New  York,  was  re- 
elected in  1795,  and  in  the  following  year  was  by  President 
Washington  appointed  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  Great 
Britain. 

Besides  the  distinction  of  being  three  times  elected  to  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States,  and  being  twice  appointed  as 
Minister  to  England,  he  was  at  various  times  the  candidate 
of  his  party  for  the  Governorship  of  New  York,  as  well  as 
for  the  Vice-Presidency  and  Presidency  of  the  Nation; 
and  although  he  failed  of  election  to  these  high  offices  he 

10 


ANCESTRY  AND   FAMILY 

was  always  regarded  as  one  of  the  ablest  statesmen  and 
diplomats  of  his  time. 

John  Alsop  King,  eldest  son  of  Rufus,  and  grandfather 
of  Henry  Van  Rensselaer,  was  a  native  of  New  York  City, 
where  he  was  born  in  1788.  During  his  youth  he  accom- 
panied his  father  to  England  when  the  latter  was  Minister  to 
the  Court  of  St.  James,  and  while  there  attended  school  at 
Harrow.  Among  his  schoolmates  were  his  brother  Charles, 
afterwards  president  of  Columbia  College,  New  York,  Lord 
Byron,  Sir  Robert  Peel  and  other  men  of  prominence. 

He  held  the  rank  of  Lieutenant  during  the  war  of  1812, 
and  in  1825  was  Secretary  of  Legation  at  London  under  his 
father.  He  was  several  times  elected  to  the  State  Legisla- 
ture, was  a  member  of  Congress  in  1849-51,  and  Governor 
of  the  State  in  1857-59.  At  the  expiration  of  his  term,  he 
returned  to  his  home,  in  the  village  of  Jamaica,  Long  Island, 
where  he  died  July  8,  1867,  in  his  80th  year.  John  King 
filled  these  many  official  positions  with  credit  to  himself  and 
honor  to  his  country,  and  during  his  long  career  never  failed 
to  present  to  his  fellow  citizens,  alike  in  his  public  and  private 
life,  a  rare  example  of  benevolence  and  manly  virtue. 


11 


CHAPTER  II. 
Boyhood  and  Early  Life. 

HENRY  VAN  RENSSELAER,  the  future  Jesuit, 
youngest  but  one  of  ten  children,  was  born  at  Wood- 
ford, near  Ogdensburg,  October  21,  1851.  His  mother, 
Elizabeth  Ray  King,  was  the  daughter  of  the  Governor 
King  mentioned  in  the  last  chapter.  His  father,  General 
Van  Rensselaer,  was  the  fifth  son  of  the  last  patroon, 
Stephen  III,  who  by  his  will  divided  the  vast  estate  among 
his  children,  bequeathing  to  the  eldest,  Stephen  IV,  the 
manor  on  the  Albany  side  of  the  Hudson,  and  to  the  fifth 
the  wild  lands  in  St.  Lawrence  County  on  the  river  of  that 
name. 

In  this  remote  domain  were  valuable  farm  lands  in  the 
townships  of  Lisbon,  Canton,  etc.,  and  the  county  seat, 
Woodford,  which  was  on  high  ground  overlooking  the 
river.  There  was  a  large  old-fashioned  garden,  with  green- 
houses, graperies  and  an  extensive  farm.  The  old  colonial 
house  had  been  enlarged  shortly  before  Henry's  birth,  and 
a  billiard  room  and  a  ballroom  were  added  for  the  entertain- 
ment of  summer  guests  and  of  the  townspeople,  who  were 
always  welcome  visitors  to  the  Van  Rensselaer  homestead. 
It  was  an  ideal  home,  and  above  all  a  Christian  home,  where 
each  day  was  opened  with  family  prayers,  and  Sunday  was 
honored  with  the  strictest  observance.  Mrs.  Van  Rensse- 
laer was  the  Lady  Bountiful  of  the  neighborhood,  ever 
ready  to  listen  to  and  relieve  the  wants  of  the  poor.  Indeed, 
during  her  entire  life,  even  when  it  was  no  longer  in  her 

12 


BOYHOOD  AND   EARLY   LIFE 

power  to  give  generously,  she  never  permitted  a  poor  person 
to  be  sent  unaided  from  her  door.  This  tender  love  for 
God's  poor,  inherited  from  her,  was  a  most  striking  trait  in 
the  priestly  career  of  her  Jesuit  son. 

Mrs.  Van  Rensselaer's  responsibility  in  rearing  her  large 
family  was  lightened  by  the  devoted  assistance  of  a  nurse 
who  entered  her  service  in  1843  and  remained  a  valued 
member  of  the  household  until  her  death  in  1899.  Monica 
Chapman  was  an  Englishwoman  of  great  native  refinement. 
A  devout  Catholic,  she  never,  by  any  attempt  to  influence  the 
faith  of  her  children,  betrayed  the  perfect  trust  reposed 
in  her  by  her  Protestant  mistress.  She  held  each  in  her 
arms  when  they  were  presented  for  baptism  in  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  and  was  faithful  in  seeing  that  they  re- 
cited morning  and  evening  the  little  prayers  taught  them  by 
their  mother.  In  after  years,  when  he  had  found  the  true 
faith  and  was  enrolled  as  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Jesus, 
Father  Van  Rensselaer,  in  conversation  with  intimate 
friends,  would  frequently  speak  of  Monica,  her  piety,  her 
devout  recital  of  the  Rosary  and  the  religious  influence 
she  exercised,  albeit  unwittingly,  in  the  family.  He  had  no 
hesitation  in  ascribing  to  her  prayers  and  to  her  example 
the  special  grace  which  led  him  eventually  to  seek  refuge  in 
the  true  fold. 

When  the  family  moved  to  New  York  City,  Monica  be- 
came a  member  of  St.  Francis  Xavier's  parish,  where,  forty- 
four  years  later,  her  Requiem  Mass  was  sung  by  the  one  of 
her  charges  who  had  been  most  dear  to  her.  and  for  whose 
conversion  many  Masses  and  prayers  had  been  offered  in 
that  church.  Before  giving  the  absolution,  Father  Van 
Rensselaer  paid  a  touching  tribute  to  the  virtue  and  fidelity 
of  his  beloved  nurse. 

13 


LIFE   OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

When  he  was  four  years  old,  the  family  came  to  New 
York  City  to  pass  the  winter  months.  Shortly  after  their 
departure  from  Woodford  their  country  home  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire,  and  was  never  rebuilt.  His  childhood  was 
uneventful,  except  that  in  addition  to  the  usual  diseases  of 
children,  he  had  an  attack  of  scarlet  fever  which  threatened 
his  life  and  left  him  of  a  rather  nervous  temperament  and 
delicate  constitution. 

When  he  was  twelve  years  old  his  father  died.  To  this 
calamity  were  added  serious  financial  reverses  owing  to  mis- 
management or  dishonesty  on  the  part  of  a  trusted  agent, 
and  it  became  incumbent  upon  the  boys  of  the  family  to 
provide  for  their  own  temporal  welfare  as  well  as  for  that 
of  those  dependent  upon  them.  Henry  had  received  his  early 
education  at  the  Charlier  Institute,  and  entered  Columbia 
College  in  1867;  he  did  not  remain  to  graduate,  but  took 
a  clerical  position  in  the  Bank  of  Commerce  in  1869. 

He  was  of  a  religious  turn  of  mind,  and  from  his  tender- 
est  years  felt  an  attraction  for  church  services. 

"  As  a  boy,"  he  says,  "  I  attended  Grace  Church,  then, 
as  now,  very  fashionable.  But  in  those  days  it  was  of  the 
extremely  Low  Church  type.  The  service  was  dull,  except 
for  the  singing  by  a  celebrated  quartet.  The  minister,  ar- 
rayed in  black  silk  gown  and  Geneva  bands,  preached,  in 
an  almost  unintelligible  voice,  ponderous  and  somnolent  ser- 
mons, duly  read  from  a  manuscript.  In  my  teens  I  longed 
for  a  more  active  part  in  the  service,  and  was  attracted 
to  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Communion,  founded  by  Dr. 
Muhlenberg,  where  there  was  a  choir  of  men  and  boys  to 
lead  the  singing,  in  which  the  whole  congregation  took  part. 
It  had  the  name,  in  consequence,  of  being  '  High,'  but  there 
was  not  much  advance  in  doctrine.    True,  there  was  an  early 

14 


o0O0O000o0 


°Oooooo°' 

HENRY  VAN  RENSSELAER  IN  BOYHOOD 


BOYHOOD   AND   EARLY   LIFE 

Communion  service,  but  it  was  rather  for  convenience  than 
for  high  teaching.  However,  I  was  on  the  rise  and  began 
the  practice  of  bowing  the  head  at  the  Gloria  Patri,  and  then 
of  kneeling  in  the  Nicene  Creed  at  the  Incarnatus.  I  re- 
member distinctly  that  those  who  did  so  were  publicly  re- 
buked one  Christmas  morning  by  Dr.  Muhlenberg  for  bow- 
ing at  the  doxology,  and  we  were  bidden  not  to  bend  like 
bulrushes,  but  to  hold  our  heads  erect.  My  first  notice  of 
candles  on  an  altar  was  in  this  church.  They  were  used 
for  light  at  the  early  morning  celebration,  and  once  a  year, 
on  the  feast  of  the  Epiphany,  at  the  evening  missionary 
service,  there  were  thirty-nine  candles  lighted  in  honor 
of  the  thirty-nine  articles  of  religion,  which  the  ritualists 
slightingly  called  the  forty  stripes  save  one  mentioned  by 
St.  Paul.  In  this  church  I  was  confirmed,  and  of  it  I 
was  a  member  for  over  ten  years.  Then  I  began  to  feel 
the  need  of  something  more  Catholic.  The  doctrines 
preached  in  Trinity  parish,  especially  at  Trinity  Church  and 
Trinity  Chapel,  were  in  those  days  considered  high.  The 
Rector,  at  that  time  a  celibate,  was  an  advocate  of  celibacy 
and  virginity.  The  music  was  from  Catholic  sources,  and 
Masses  by  celebrated  composers  were  adapted  to  the  Com- 
munion service.  Great  stress  was  laid  on  the  teaching  of 
the  undivided  Church  and  of  the  four  Ecumenical  Councils. 

"  The  first  ritualistic  church  in  New  York  was  St.  Alban's. 
The  naming  of  it  was  significant.  It  was  meant  to  insinu- 
ate the  continuity  with  the  ancient  British  Church,  of  which 
St.  Alban  was  the  first  martyr.  Moreover  its  namesake  in 
London  had  been  the  leader  in  ritualism  and  the  storm- 
centre  of  opposition  of  the  officials  of  the  State  Church. 

"  St.  Alban's  on  this  side  of  the  water  was  an  exact  imita- 
tion of  a  Catholic  Church.     The  minister  clubbed  himself 

15 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

1  father '  and  donned  the  habiliments  of  a  priest.  It  was  a 
novelty,  and  sightseers  frequented  the  services.  The  Church 
of  St.  Mary  the  Virgin  was  the  next  to  follow  suit,  and 
offered  all  the  attractions  of  Rome  without  being  Roman. 
St.  Ignatius'  was  the  next  in  the  field,  with  rival  novelties 
from  Rome.  These  were  full-blown  ritualistic  churches. 
There  were  others  tending  upward — an  unintentional  tribute 
to  the  true  Church,  any  tendency  to  which  is  truly  described 
as  becoming  high. 

"  But  ritualism  had  as  yet  no  charm  for  me,  and  I  recall 
my  disgust  at  a  visit  to  the  Oratory  of  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment, which  had  been  opened  by  an  English  clergyman  of 
the  advanced  type,  who  later  became  a  convert  and  a  priest. 
Nor  had  St.  Alban's  any  attractive  power,  and  attendance 
at  one  service  sufficed  for  me;  neither  could  I  abide  St. 
Mary  the  Virgin's." 


16 


CHAPTER    III. 
General  Theological  Seminary.,  New  York. 

IT  had  always  been  the  wish  of  his  family  that  Henry 
should  be  clergyman,  but,  as  we  have  said,  the  family 
circumstances  had  to  be  considered.  So,  on  leaving  college, 
he  went  into  business.  This  was  not  his  calling,  though  he 
persevered  in  it  for  several  years.  After  this,  however,  he 
announced  his  intention  of  going  to  the  seminary.  It  was  in 
the  autumn  of  1873  that  he  took  up  his  residence  in  one  of 
the  old  granite  buildings  in  the  grounds  of  the  General  Theo- 
logical Seminary  at  Chelsea  Square.  Here  he  found  a  wide 
divergence  of  views  and  practices  among  the  professors  and 
students  alike.  The  following  is  his  account  of  the  condi- 
tions then  existing  in  the  seminary : — 

"  There  were  at  that  time  seventy  seminarians,  and,  I 
think,  six  professors.  Both  professors  and  seminarians  rep- 
resented every  shade  of  belief  tolerated  by  that  most  elastic 
of  sects.  The  Dean,  who  was  professor  of  Ecclesiastical 
History,  passed  for  a  very  advanced  churchman.  The  pro- 
fessor of  Dogmatic  Theology  was  high  and  dry.  The  pro- 
fessor of  New  Testament  Exegesis  was  safely  high.  The 
professor  of  Hebrew  hobnobbed  with  Ritualists.  The  pro- 
fessor of  Canon  Law  was  a  moderate  churchman  of  the  dry 
type,  while  the  professor  of  Pastoral  Theology  was  an  old- 
fashioned  low  churchman,  dry  as  dust.  Could  a  more  com- 
posite set  of  churchmen  be  imagined  ?  A  truly  '  happy 
family  '  collection." 

The  seminarians  presented  the  same  pleasing  variety  of 

17 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

religious  opinions.  No  two  agreed  exactly,  and  why  should 
ihey  agree  when  their  instructors  set  the  example  of  dis- 
agreeing? After  all,  was  it  not  the  logical  Protestant  posi- 
tion, the  exercise  of  the  claimed  inherent  right  of  private 
judgment?  Naturally  he  was  at  once  called  upon  to  declare 
his  own  views ;  and  he  was  ranked  among  the  very  high 
churchmen.  "  But,"  he  says,  "  I  could  not  go  all  the 
lengths  to  which  a  few  went.  Excessive  bowing  of  the  head, 
crooking  of  the  knees,  and  signs  of  the  cross,  extravagant  in 
size,  seemed  to  me  too  conspicuous.  The  ultra-high  church- 
men affected  the  wearing  of  a  clerical  vest  with  neither  open- 
ing or  buttons  down  the  front,  which  was  yclept  the  '  mark 
of  the  Beast,'  and  was  supposed  to  be  intensely  Roman. 
Strange  to  say,  no  '  Roman  '  priest  was  ever  known  to  wear 
a  waistcoat  so  constructed.  Another  very  Romanizing 
sign  was  to  pronounce  amen,  '  ahmen,'  though  such  a  pro- 
nunciation is  unknown  to  the  real  Roman  except  in  Latin." 

He  narrates  with  some  detail  the  daily  life  in  the  Semi- 
nary : — 

"  As  I  had  a  rather  large  room  with  two  smaller  ones  off 
it,  I  took  one  of  the  smaller  rooms  for  an  oratory.  The  other 
small  one  was  a  bedroom  and  the  large  one  a  study.  The 
oratory  was  simplicity  itself,  for  its  furniture  was  a  prie- 
dieu  before  a  statuette  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  on  either  side 
of  which  was  a  candlestick,  holding  candles  to  be  lighted  for 
devotions.  To  this  oratory  a  few  choice  spirits  resorted  oc- 
casionally after  class  and  at  night.  I  had  not  yet  advanced 
sufficiently  to  have  a  crucifix. 

"  The  students  took  their  meals  in  common,  and  I  shall 
never  forget  the  day  when,  at  dinner,  the  news  was  circu- 
lated that  the  Rector  of  Trinity  Church,  the  advocate  and 
model  of  celibacy,  was  engaged  to  be  married.     And  what 

18 


GENERAL    THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARY 

made  it  worse  was  that  the  lady  was  a  Presbyterian! 
Imagine  the  shock  to  the  admirers  of  celibacy !  It  was  said 
that  a  religious  congregation  of  women,  of  which  he  had 
been  the  confessor  and  a  great  friend,  had,  in  their  indigna- 
tion, turned  his  portrait  with  its  face  to  the  wall.  The  idol 
was  found  to  be  only  flesh  and  blood.  The  effect  of  the  de- 
fection of  the  leader  was  diverse.  Some  students  changed 
their  minds  like  him,  and  declared  that  they  had  given  up  the 
intention  of  being  celibates.  Others  said,  '  I  told  you  so  ' ; 
while  still  others,  of  whom  I  was  one,  remained  faithful  to 
their  conviction  that  the  unmarried  clergyman,  having  no 
family  to  divide  his  attention,  could  give  an  undivided 
service  to  God  and  the  flock  committed  to  his  care.  Per- 
haps, with  a  view  of  encouraging  matrimony  among  the 
seminarians,  there  were  soirees  at  the  Dean's  house,  where 
susceptible  and  unwary  youths  might  lose  their  hearts,  and 
where,  in  fact,  the  fate  of  several  was  thus  settled  in  favor 
of  the  married  state." 

If  so  much  latitude  in  doctrine  is  allowed  to  the  various 
divisions  that  make  up  the  Episcopalian  body  without  im- 
periling their  orthodoxy,  it  will  be  interesting  to  know  what 
questions  are  asked  and  what  answers  must  be  given  that  a 
student  may  acquit  himself  with  credit  before  an  examining 
board.     Van  Rensselaer  lets  the  cat  out  of  the  bag. 

"  Examinations  were  a  curious  thing  at  the  seminary. 
The  examiners  adapted  themselves  marvelously  to  the  ex- 
amined. Every  candidate's  grade  of  churchmanship  was 
pretty  well  known  to  the  examiners,  who  dexterously  put 
questions  suitable  to  the  religious  convictions  of  those  ex- 
amined. No  matter  how  unorthodox  a  man  might  be,  the 
very  obliging  examiners  were  careful  to  avoid  the  crucial 
questions  and  to  elicit  only  statements  that  would  not  shock 

19 


LIFE   OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

the  broad  sensibilities  of  the  examining  board  and  students 
present." 

One  of  the  events  of  seminary  life  he  recalls  was  the  oc- 
casional visit  of  a  Cowley  Father  from  Boston  to  hear  con- 
fessions ;  and  Van  Rensselaer  was  one  of  the  confessed.  The 
acquaintance  thus  made  with  the  mysterious  visitor,  who 
came  in  cassock,  cloak  and  broad  hat,  had  an  important 
influence  on  his  after  life. 

Though  a  pronounced  high  churchman  himself,  his  par- 
ticular friends  were  taken  from  all  grades  of  churchman- 
ship.  "  One  of  them  was  really  a  rationalist,  but  a  charming 
man.  One,  now  a  bishop,  was  low  church,  while  another, 
also  a  bishop,  was  broad.  Two  others  were  very  high, 
while  still  another  was  evangelical."  Yet  withal,  in  spite 
of  theological  differences  of  opinion,  they  were  very  good 
friends. 

During  the  summer  vacation  in  his  first  year  he  made  a 
trip  to  Europe,  which  tended  to  broaden  his  views  con- 
siderably. "  According  to  the  theory  generally  accepted  by 
us,"  he  says,  "  it  was  positively  wrong  for  Anglicans  to  at- 
tend '  Roman  '  services  in  English-speaking  countries,  so 
in  England  I  visited  only  churches  of  the  Established  Re- 
ligion. As  this  rule  did  not  hold  for  the  continent,  I  felt 
no  compunction  in  going  to  the  celebrated  Catholic  churches, 
although  I  was  particular  in  being  present  at  service  in  the 
American  chapels,  however  bald  ana  cold  that  service  was. 
and  baldness  and  coldness  were  the  prevalent  qualities." 

Although  only  a  seminarian,  he  had  very  decided  ideas 
about  the  propriety  of  clergymen  going  to  the  opera  and 
theatre,  and  as  he  had  assumed  the  clerical  collar,  he  con- 
sidered himself  a  cleric.  His  principle  in  this  regard  was 
put  to  a  severe  test  at  Munich.     A  monster  Wagner  festival 

20 


GENERAL    THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARY 

was  being  held,  and  he  loved  music.  His  inclination  was 
in  favor  of  going,  he  was  urged  by  fellow-travellers  to  go, 
but  he  made  the  sacrifice  and  did  not  go.  In  Paris  he  had 
met  several  of  the  seminarians  who  were  "  doing  "  the  sights, 
as  they  told  him  they  had  just  been  "  doing  "  London.  He 
expostulated.  They  defended  themselves  on  the  plea  of 
gaining  experience  for  future  use  in  the  ministry.  "  Pitch," 
he  said,  "  would  leave  its  mark  and  what  was  unbecoming 
in  New  York  could  not  be  becoming  in  Paris  and  London. 
They  went  their  way,   and  I  went  mine." 

He  could  not  help  contrasting  the  cathedrals,  still  sacred 
to  Catholic  worship  on  the  continent,  with  those  shorn  of 
their  ancient  glory  in  England  and  Scotland.  "  Notre 
Dame  of  Paris  and  the  Dom  of  Cologne,"  he  writes,  "  were 
instinct  with  devotion,  and  the  most  inspiring  music  I  ever 
heard  was  that  of  a  vast  congregation  at  Mass  one  Sunday 
in  the  Cologne  Cathedral.  My  blood  boiled  at  the  desecra- 
tion of  the  historic  Cathedral  at  Basle  and  its  tenure  by 
Calvinists,  just  as  it  had  boiled  in  poor  St.  Giles'  in  Edin- 
burgh, divided  in  two  for  two  Protestant  sects — Presby- 
terian and  Episcopalian." 

The  extensive  trip  through  Europe  enabled  him  to  culti- 
vate his  taste  for  the  fine  arts  by  studying  the  world's  mas- 
terpieces, stored  in  the  great  museums  and  galleries.  He 
journeyed  all  the  way  to  Dresden,  solely  to  gaze  upon 
Raphael's  chef-d'oeuvre,  the  Sistine  Madonna,  and  he  felt 
that,  even  had  there  been  no  other  treasures  of  art  in  that 
wonderful  collection,  it  was  well  worth  the  journey.  What 
impressed  him  in  all  the  great  collections  was  the  prepon- 
derance of  subjects  taken  from  the  lives  of  Christ,  His 
mother,  and  the  saints.  "  What  a  superb  testimony,"  he 
mused,  "  to>  the  faith  of  the  Catholic  world  before  the  great 

21 


LIFE   OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

revolt  of  the  sixteenth  century,  which  cast  a  blight  for  so 
long  on  Christian  art,  from  which  it  has  only  in  the  last 
century  partially  recovered !  " 

In  spite  of  warnings  not  to  venture  further  south  in 
Italy  than  Venice  and  Florence  in  early  September,  he  de- 
cided to  risk  it.  He  made  a  hurried  trip  to  Rome  and  even 
to  Naples.  "Multum  in  parvo,"  he  says,  "  would  describe 
the  amount  of  sightseeing  I  accomplished  in  a  minimum  of 
time.  I  realized  that .  it  was  dangerous  to  rush  about  a 
I'americaine,  but  then  it  might  be  my  only  chance,  though 
I  did  not  neglect  to  throw  a  coin  in  the  famous  fountain  of 
Trevi,  which  is  supposed  to  ensure  a  return  to  the  Eternal 
City,  which  in  my  case  proved  true.  I  recall  perfectly  one 
night,  when  I  had  that  day  dared  Providence  by  going  from 
the  heat  of  the  streets  to  the  chill  of  buildings  for  hours, 
that  I  felt  in  danger  of  the  fever,  and  for  the  first  time  made 
the  sign  of  the  cross  with  a  prayer  for  safety.  With  that 
start  the  holy  sign  of  our  salvation  became  a  familiar  action. 
I  can  honestly  say,  however,  that  I  had  not  the  least  attrac- 
tion to  Catholicism,  as  such,  at  that  time.  But  undoubtedly 
the  leaven  was  working.  I  know  that  I  was  disgusted  with 
a  cicerone  who,  to  ingratiate  himself,  spoke  slightingly  of 
his  religion/' 

"  The  motive  of  my  European  trip,"  he  admits,  "  was 
rather  artistic  than  religious,  and  so  the  art  galleries  claimed 
my  chief  attention,  though,  as  I  have  already  said,  the 
world's  most  famous  pictures  portray  the  great  mysteries  of 
our  faith  and  insensibly  awaken  our  religious  emotions." 

While  at  Florence  he  had  failed  to  visit  the  convent  of 
San  Marco,  where  Fra  Angelico  had  exercised  his  matchless 
art  in  limning  on  the  walls  of  the  cells  those  ethereal  spirits  of 
another  world  in  their  ministry  to  the  Incarnate  Word  and 

22 


GENERAL    THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARY 

His  mother.  He  resolved  at  Naples  to  make  good  this  omis- 
sion, and  returned  to  Florence  via  Leghorn  and  Pisa  on  a 
flying  visit.  He  considered  himself  well  repaid  by  the  sight 
of  the  angelic  brothers  exquisite  productions. 

He  was  much  annoyed  at  Turin  to  find  the  banks  closed  on 
a  weekday  that  was  not  on  the  Protestant  Episcopal  calendar 
as  a  feast-day.  It  was  the  8th  of  September,  the  Nativity 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  and  a  holy  day  of  obligation  at 
that  time  in  Italy.  His  funds  were  low,  and  he  had  expected 
to  draw  on  his  letter  of  credit  at  the  bank.  His  time  was 
very  limited,  as  he  had  to  return  to  America  towards  the 
end  of  the  month.  Fortunately  there  were  at  the  hotel  some 
very  genial  English  officers,  returning  from  India,  who,  on 
hearing  of  his  plight,  volunteered  to  advance  him,  though 
he  was  a  perfect  stranger  to  them,  all  the  money  he  needed. 
When  he  reached  London  he  failed  to  meet  these  true  friends 
in  need,  but  acquitted  himself  of  his  obligation  to  them. 

All  good  things  come  to  an  end,  and  so  did  the  trip  to 
Europe.  Seminary  life  was  resumed.  Henry's  ideas  had 
broadened,  but  he  was  not  conscious  of  any  trend  Rome- 
ward.  The  second  year  was  uneventful.  "  The  various 
professors,"  he  says,  "  still  taught  their  varied  doctrines, 
and  the  students  still  drew  their  own  conclusions.  The  pro- 
fessor of  ecclesiastical  history  enlightened  us  on  St.  Pat- 
rick's day  with  a  lengthy  disquisition  to  prove  that  St.  Pat- 
rick, besides  being  a  gentleman,  was  a  Protestant  and — an 
Anglican !  " 


23 


CHAPTER    IV. 
Germany  and  Oxford. 

AT  the  close  of  the  second  year,  our  young  seminarian 
grew  tired  of  the  very  prosaic  life  at  the  seminary 
and  resolved  to  spend  the  third  year  of  preparation  for  holy 
orders  in  the  University  City  of  Oxford.  For  this  he  had  to 
obtain  leave  from  the  Bishop,  the  Right  Rev.  Horatio  Potter. 
Although  he  was  an  old  personal  friend  of  the  Van  Rens- 
selaer family,  he  did  not  favor  the  project,  but  for  lack  of 
authority  could  not  forbid  it.  Henry  speaks  amusingly  of 
his  visit  to  the  Bishop  on  this  occasion,  though  it  ended 
rather  awkwardly  for  the  visitor.  "  The  Bishop,"  he  says, 
"  was  extremely  tall,  very  thin  and  rather  severe  looking. 
According  to  my  advanced  schooling,  the  correct  thing  on 
taking  leave  of  your  Bishop  was  to  kneel  and  ask  his  bless- 
ing, since  there  was  no  ring  to  kiss.  The  Bishop  lived  in  an 
English  basement  house,  and  he  received  me  on  the  second 
floor.  My  leave-taking  was  at  the  head  of  the  staircase, 
and  I  narrowly  escaped  being  helped  down  the  flight  when 
I  knelt  for  the  blessing.  I  then  and  there  resolved  to  choose 
a  safe  place  before  again  asking  an  episcopal  blessing." 

Henry  carried  out  his  intention  and  sailed  in  June,  1875, 
for  Europe.  One  of  his  fellow-students,  who  had  formed  the 
same  plan  as  himself,  preceded  him  by  a  couple  of  weeks. 
Their  rendezvous  was  to  be  in  Hanover,  where  they  were 
to  study  German  during  the  vacation. 

"  My  landing  in  Holland,  the  country  of  my  forefathers, 
will  never  be  forgotten.     It  is  usual  to  uncover  one's  head 

24 


GERMANY  AND  OXFORD 

in  token  of  respect.  In  this  instance  I  was  spared  the  act, 
as  shortly  before  landing  at  Rotterdam  my  only  hat  dis- 
appeared from  the  cabin  table,  on  which  I  had  confidingly 
placed  it.  Perhaps  it  was  taken  as  an  American  curio.  The 
result  was  extremely  embarrassing  to  me  and  entirely  marred 
my  first  impression  of  the  land  of  my  forefathers.  So  dis- 
heartened was  I,  that  I  took  the  first  train  to  Hanover, 
where  my  friend  awaited  me. 

"  He  had  secured  board  and  lodging  in  the  family  of  an 
ex-Hanoverian  major,  who,  in  consequence,  was  a  cordial 
hater  of  the  usurping  king  of  Prussia  and  a  most  loyal  ad- 
herent of  the  old  blind  ex-king.  The  household  consisted 
of  the  major,  his  wife  and  daughter,  a  forward  damsel  of 
sixteen.  We  were  really  overpowered  with  their  constant 
attention.  And  the  German  cooking!  No  disputing  about 
tastes !  We  made  progress  in  learning  German,  but  at  what 
costs !  We  were  always  en  famille.  We  could  not  stir  out 
of  doors,  unless  accompanied,  usually  by  the  three.  We  had 
to  resort  to  artifices.  Sunday  we  declared  exempt  from  com- 
pany, as  we  had  religious  scruples  on  the  subject.  Then  we 
discovered  that  there  were  two  concert  gardens,  both  high- 
grade.  They  recommended  the  Odeon  and  accompanied  us 
there.  In  an  unwary  moment  they  disclosed  the  fact  that 
the  rival  Tivoli  was  the  resort  of  the  hated  Prussian  garri- 
son officers,  and  consequently  was  tabooed  by  all  loyal 
Hanoverians.  This  threw  the  extra  weight  in  the  scale  of 
Tivoli.  We  decided  that  the  music  at  Tivoli  was  superior, 
and  we  forsook  the  Odeon  and  were  freed  from  the  com- 
pany of  the  family  on  those  evenings  at  least.  The  good- 
natured,  motherly,  fat  Frau  Majorin  Candau  got  us  a  terrible 
scolding  from  the  Herr  Major  for  once,  in  our  simplicity, 
speaking  of  her  to  him  as  the  Majorin  without  prefixing 

35 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

Frau.  I  was  a  great  lover  of  flowering  plants.  She  had 
placed  some  flower-pots  on  our  window-sill.  Now  the 
window  was  in  the  third  story,  and,  though  in  Germany, 
it  was  a  French  window.  One  day,  when  the  wind  was  high, 
we  went  out  for  a  walk  and  left  the  window  open.  When 
we  returned,  our  reception  was  frigid  in  the  extreme.  The 
chill  was  caused  by  the  blowing  down  of  a  flower-pot,  for 
which  we  were  held  guilty.  When  it  occurred,  shortly  after, 
a  second  time,  our  guilt  was  so  evident,  and  our  malice  so 
prepense,  that  for  a  while  they  would  not  speak  to  us.  We. 
went  out  and  bought  a  beautiful  china  jardiniere  with  lovely 
growing  flowers.  The  peace-offering  was  accepted  with 
profuse  expressions  of  admiration  for  the  gift  and  astonish- 
ment at  our  extravagance.  However,  we  were  tired  of  the 
uncertain  temper  of  the  toothless  major,  whose  toothsome 
Hamburger  steak  was  sometimes  surreptitiously  taken  by  us 
at  table,  instead  of  the  tougher  meat  served  on  the  same  dish. 
We  were  tired  of  the  pert  Fraulein  Mollie ;  tired  even  of  the 
kind-hearted,  but  oppressive  Majorin;  but  above  all,  tired 
of  the  irascible  major.  We  decided  that  a  trip  to  Berlin, 
Dresden,  the  Saxon  Switzerland,  Baden-Baden  and  other 
places  of  interest  would  be  preferable  to  a  longer  sojourn 
in  Hanover — the  dullest  of  dull  towns,  although  its  in- 
habitants claim  the  purest  pronunciation  of  German." 

The  summer  on  the  Continent  helped  to  moderate  the  de- 
cidedly puritanical  views  Van  Rensselaer  had  entertained  on 
the  subject  of  Sunday  observance.  He  had  been  brought 
up  in  the  most  rigid  manner.  As  a  child  no  toys,  or  play- 
things, or  games,  and  no  secular  story  books  or  music  were 
ever  allowed.  The  day  was  devoted  tx>  church-going,  cate- 
chism, learning  texts  and  chapters  of  the  Bible,  reading 
goody-goody  books   and  singing  hymns.      It  would  have 

26  ' 


GERMANY  AND  OXFORD 


been  considered  an  awful  breach  to  sing  a  ballad  or  read  a 
novel,  however  standard  it  might  be.  Amusements  of  all 
kinds  were  prohibited.  Baseball  or  sports  of  athletic  nature 
were  under  the  ban.  "  Imagine,"  he  says,  "  what  a  con- 
trast to  all  this  a  '  Continental '  Sunday  is !  I  was  not  con- 
verted to  the  latter,  but  an  impression  was  made  less  anti- 
pathetic." 

It  so  happened  that  during  his  stay  in  Germany  the  last 
of  the  conferences  at  Bonn  on  the  Rhine  was  about  to  be 
held.  It  was  a  chance,  and  he  embraced  it.  We  cannot  help 
being  grateful  for  the  interesting  though  brief  account  given 
by  the  observant  American : 

"  There  were  present  representatives  of  the  Church  of 
England,  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  the  Lutherans, 
Old  Catholics  and  Greeks— a  motley  collection.  The  lan- 
guage at  the  morning  session  was  German ;  in  the  afternoon 
English  was  spoken.  Dr.  Dollinger,  leader  of  the  so-called 
old-Catholic  schism,  was  the  chief  speaker.  The  supposed 
machinations  of  the  Jesuits  seemed  to  be  his  piece-de-resis- 
tance, and  on  this  he  harped.  The  Greeks,  though  repre- 
sented, held  themselves  aloof,  and  would  not  join  in  any 
religious  exercise  with  the  others.  Of  course,  they  soon 
discovered  that  many  fundamental  doctrines  held  by  them 
were  rejected  by  the  Protestants.  The  result  was — what 
might  have  been  predicted — nothing.  One  novel  bit  of  in- 
formation was  furnished  by  the  Anglican  Bishop  of 
Gibraltar.  He  informed  us  that  he  had  jurisdiction  over 
all  southern  Europe,  and  that,  consequently,  Rome  was  in 
his  rather  extensive  diocese.  Was  Pius  IX  his  suffragan? 
He  did  not  vouchsafe  to  tell  us  who  had  granted  him  juris- 
diction. Did  southern  Europe  belong  to  the  Province  of 
Canterbury?     How  about  the  time-honored  triple  branch 

27 


LIFE   OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

theory  ?  But  we  must  not  look  for  consistency  in  such  diffi- 
cult questions." 

For  all  that,  Henry  in  a  letter  written  at  the  time,  and 
with  the  impression  still  vivid  in  his  mind,  declared  that 
"  Dr.  Dollingers  closing  address,  in  which  he  traced  the 
rise  and  growth  of  the  Papacy,  was  better  than  a  course  of 
lectures." 

While  at  Bonn  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  celebrated 
English  preacher,  Canon  Liddon,  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral, 
London,  who  was  present  at  the  conference.  This  was  really 
fortunate,  for  it  provided  him  with  a  friend  to  introduce  him 
to  the  Dons  at  Oxford,  of  which  university  Dr.  Liddon  was 
a  professor. 

To  Oxford,  then,  he  went  in  the  fall  of  1875,  his  friend 
and  fellow-student  from  the  General  Theological  Semi- 
nary accompanying  him.  As  they  intended  to  spend 
only  a  year  there,  they  thought  it  useless  to  attach  them- 
selves to  any  of  the  colleges,  so  they  were  what  is  known  as 
unattached,  or  students-at-large,  "  a  very  suitable  condi- 
tion," he  observes,  "  for  young  Americans." 

They  had  charming  rooms  in  a  little  house  on  the  Iffley 
Road,  in  front  of  which  was  the  broad  level  stretch  of 
Christ  Church  Meadows.  The  Convent  of  the  Cowley 
Fathers,  as  they  are  commonly  called,  was  quite  near. 
Thither  Van  Rensselaer  went  every  morning  and  evening, 
mingled  with  the  "  Fathers,"  and  was  much  impressed 
by  their  austerity.  Indeed  it  is  surprising  that  he  was  not 
at  this  time  formally  received  into  their  community. 

The  Cowley  Fathers  are  not  unknown  in  America.  They 
have  at  least  two  churches  in  the  United  States,  the  "  Old  " 
Advent  in  Boston  and  St.  Clement's  in  Philadelphia.  As 
Van  Rensselaer  saw  so  much  of  them  at  Oxford,  a  short 

28 


GERMANY  AND  OXFORD 

account  of  this  community  from  his  pen,  with  characteristic 
comments,  may  be  of  interest : 

"  The  Convent  of  the  Cowley  Fathers  was  founded  by 
Father  Benson,  who  was  a  fellow  of  Christ  Church,  I  be- 
lieve, and  an  Anglican  minister.     He  was  a  man  of  large 
fortune,  which  he  spent  in  building  the  monastery,  in  sup- 
porting the  brethren,  and  in  charitable  works.    Personally  he 
was  unprepossessing,  carried  his  head  always  on  one  side, 
was  usually  unkempt  and  untidy.     He  was  certainly  pious 
in   his  own   way,   and   self-sacrificing.      He  preached   with 
great  earnestness,  but  in  a  very  nasal  tone.     The  title  of 
the  community  was  Society  of  St.  John  Evangelist,  and  the 
Fathers  were  consequently  S.S.J.E.,  not  unlike  the  Jesuits, 
who  are  S.J.     Moreover,  they  followed  the  exact  rule  of  the 
Society  of  Jesus,  but  in  an  exaggerated  way,  and  wore  in 
different  material  the  dress  usually  worn  by  the  Jesuits  in 
Europe:   a  cassock  with  girdle,   a  long  cloak  and  broad- 
brimmed  hat.     They  made  themselves  very  conspicuous  by 
appearing  in  public  streets,  in  railway  cars  and  on  steam- 
ships, in  full  costume,  to  the  astonishment  of  most  behold- 
ers.    As  I  have  already  hinted,  they  recite  daily  the  Brevi- 
ary, but  in  English.     The  Jesuits  make  an  annual  eight-day 
retreat,  and  twice  in  their  religious  lives  a  thirty-day  retreat 
preparatory  to  their  first  and  last  vows.     Their  imitators, 
like    most   imitators,    overdo   the   originals   by   prescribing 
a    yearly    retreat    of    thirty    days.      In    other    matters    the 
same   spirit    of    exaggeration    manifests    itself.      Although 
only    a    score    or    so    in    number,    they    scour    the   world, 
preaching,      giving     retreats     and     hearing     confessions. 
From  whom  they  get  this  universal  mission  and  jurisdic- 
tion    is    so    profound    a    mystery    that    not    even    they 
themselves  pretend  to  give  a  solution.     In  fact,  these  two 

29 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

matters,  mission  and  jurisdiction,  are  quietly  ignored.  If 
any  explanation  is  insisted  upon,  these  powers  are  claimed 
to  be  received  in  ordination.  Now,  supposing  that  Anglican 
Orders  were  valid,  which  we  do  not  admit,  they  would 
only  confer  the  powers  of  the  priesthood  radically,  and  for 
their  exercise  the  further  power  of  mission  and  jurisdiction 
are  required.  We  might  give  an  example  from  the  army 
and  navy.  A  man  may  receive  the  appointment  of  a  cap- 
taincy. The  appointing  gives  the  rank,  but  the  exercise  of 
the  duty  requires  the  further  designation  of  the  regiment 
and  the  company.  Furthermore,  a  captain  assigned  to  a 
company  in  one  regiment  may  not  lawfully  exercise  au- 
thority as  captain  of  a  company  in  another.  So  a  priest  re- 
quires, besides  the  powers  received  in  the  sacrament 
of  Holy  Orders,  faculties  from  his  ordinary,  the  bishop 
of  the  diocese,  for  the  exercise  of  those  powers.  The  priest 
is  appointed  over  a  certain  parish  or  mission  by  his  bishop, 
and  over  it  he  has  jurisdiction,  but  he  cannot  rove  around 
outside  of  his  own  limits  and  perform  priestly  acts. 

"  So  strict  is  the  discipline  of  the  Church  that  a  priest  in 
good  standing  in  his  own  diocese,  for  instance,  New  York, 
could  not  pass  over  the  ferry  to  New  Jersey  or  Long  Island 
and  exercise  his  ministry  without  the  permission  and  appro- 
bation of  the  Bishop  of  Newark  or  of  Brooklyn.  For  uni- 
versal ministry  there  must  be  a  universal  mission  and  juris- 
diction, which  belongs  to  the  Apostolic  See  alone.  Hence  in 
the  Catholic  Church  the  Pope  exercises  this  universal  au- 
thority over  the  whole  flock  of  Christ,  and  designates,  or 
at  least  approves,  the  erection  of  dioceses,  of  vicariates 
apostolic  and  their  incumbents.  Compare  the  perfect  order 
and  discipline  in  the  Church  with  the  go-as-you-please 
methods  among  Protestant  ministers." 

30 


GERMANY  AND  OXFORD 

While  at  the  University  of  Oxford,  Van  Rensselaer's  re- 
lations with  some  of  the  noted  men  there  were  of  the  friend- 
liest kind.  Chief  among  these  were  Canon  Liddon  and  Dr. 
King,  now  Bishop  of  Lincoln. 

"  Canon  Liddon,"  he  says,  "  gave  very  profoundly  criti- 
cal views  on  the  Epistle  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Romans.  His 
exegesis  of  the  Greek  was  admirable,  though  extremely 
technical.  But  it  was  an  education  in  the  art  of  studying 
the  original  text." 

The  Canon  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  ablest  of  the 
passing  generation  of  Anglican  Churchmen,  and  a  worthy 
successor  of  the  giants  of  the  Oxford  movement.  Most  of 
his  sermons  have  been  published  and  show  great  erudition, 
particularly  in  Catholic  theology.  With  him  Van  Rens- 
selaer was  on  terms  of  easy  familiarity,  which  was  the  occa- 
sion in  later  life  of  many  pleasant  reminiscences.  The  great 
man  impressed  him  deeply  and  no  doubt  had  a  marked  in- 
fluence in  shaping  his  career.  He  speaks  of  him  always  with 
respect  and  at  times  with  a  glow  of  enthusiastic  admiration. 
Thus  he  tells  us : — 

"  I  used  to  see  a  great  deal  of  Canon  Liddon.  It  is 
strange  how  small  incidents  leave  their  impression.  One 
day  I  was  invited  to  lunch  with  him.  To  my  horror  the 
only  dish  provided  was  one  of  sweetbreads.  Now  I  had 
never  been  able  to  school  myself  to  eat  them,  as  I  had  a 
repulsion  for  liver,  kidneys  and  things  of  that  ilk.  I  could 
not  disgrace  my  breeding  by  refusing  the  only  dish,  so  I 
conquered  my  antipathy  then  and  there.  He  had  proposed 
a  long  walk  in  the  country  for  that  day.  I  kept  the  appoint- 
ment, although  walking  seemed  out  of  the  question,  as  it 
had  poured  down  rain  for  several  days,  and  the  lowlands 
of  Oxford  were  flooded.     I  never  for  a  moment  imagined 

31 


LIFE   OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

the  possibility  of  a  walk  under  such  conditions.  But  the 
Doctor  remarked  casually  that  he  supposed  I  was  prepared 
for  the  walk.  'Do  you  intend  to  go?'  I  asked.  'Cer- 
tainly,' said  he,  '  I  always  carry  out  my  plans.  Will  you 
go  ?  '  Was  an  Englishman  to  challenge  an  American  and 
find  him  wanting? 

"  '  Of  course  I  shall  go,'  I  replied,  determined  not  to  be 
outdone,  though  in  my  mind  thinking  it  perfect  folly.  So 
the  walk  was  taken,  if  it  could  be  called  a  walk.  It  was 
rather  a  wade,  and  in  several  places  we  had  to  use  rowboats 
as  extemporized  ferries  where  the  roads  were  flooded.  It 
was  a  life  lesson  for  me  to  learn  from  this  successful  lec- 
turer and  preacher — the  determination  that  overcomes  all 
obstacles.  Many  pleasant  and  instructive  rambles  were 
taken  in  the  company  of  that  great  man.  I  attended  some 
of  his  Advent  sermons  under  the  dome  of  St.  Paul's,  where 
some  five  thousand  persons  assembled  to  hear  him,  as  he 
ranked  foremost  among  the  preachers  of  the  Establishment. 
He  read  his  sermons,  but  so  skilfully  that  one  scarcely 
realized  it.  He  had,  however,  an  unpleasant  habit  of  throw- 
ing up  his  head  continually,  as  if  to  give  greater  resonance 
to  his  voice.  And  he  made  such  efforts  to  be  heard  that, 
he  told  me,  he  was  exhausted  for  three  days  after.  He  was 
very  popular  among  the  students,  and  was  reputed  to  be 
the  spiritual  adviser  of  many  of  them." 

There  was  an  attempt  on  Van  Rensselaer's  part  to  be- 
come enrolled  as  a  member  of  Dr.  Pusey's  class,  but  he  met 
with  discomfiture.     He  records  the  incident  as  follows: 

"  I  rather  plumed  myself  on  my  knowledge  of  Hebrew 
at  that  time,  as  I  had  studied  it  two  years  in  the  General 
Theological  Seminary.  So  I  paid  a  visit  to  Dr.  Pusey,  who 
enveloped  me  completely  in  a  wet  blanket.     He  inquired  if 

32 


GERMANY  AND  OXFORD 

I  were  conversant  with  Aramaic,  Chaldaic,  Syriac,  Arabic, 
and  I  do  not  recall  how  many  other  oriental  tongues.  On 
my  answering  in  a  very  crestfallen  way  that  they  were  all 
unknown  to  me,  he  said  that  his  lectures  on  Daniel  would 
be  quite  useless,  as  they  presupposed  such  knowledge.  Noti- 
cing my  drooping  spirits,  he  added  encouragingly  that  I 
might  acquire  a  sufficient  acquaintance  with  them  in  two 
years  to  profit  by  his  class,  and  that  then  I  might  attend. 
He  little  appreciated  the  spirit  of  rush  that  animates  Ameri- 
cans. I  was  not  altogether  sorry,  as  I  was  not  at  all  drawn 
to  the  great  leader  of  the  Oxford  movement.  He  was  not 
prepossessing  in  appearance  or  manner,  and  I  wondered 
wherein  his  influence  lay.  Nor  was  I  changed  in  my  judg- 
ment when  I  afterwards  heard  him  preach  at  St.  Mary's,  the 
University  Church,  in  all  the  glory  of  a  doctor's  scarlet 
gown." 

Another  eminent  Oxford  Don  whose  kindness  of  heart 
always  appealed  to  Van  Rensselaer  was  Dr.  King,  the  pres- 
ent Anglican  Bishop  of  Lincoln.  Contrasting  him  with 
Dr.  Pusey,  he  says  : — 

"  A  very  different  type  of  man  was  Dr.  King,  Canon  of 
Christ  Church  and  Regius  Professor  of  Pastoral  Theology. 
He  lived  in  Christ  Church  quadrangle  with  his  mother,  a 
dear  old  lady,  and  they  formed  the  most  charming  couple. 
The  Canon  was  gentleness  and  considerateness  personified. 
He  was  not  a  learned  man,  but  was  well  read,  and  had  a 
heart  overflowing  with  sympathy.  He  lectured  familiarly 
on  Liturgies,  and  endeavored  to  show  that  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer  was  in  full  accord  with  the  primitive  litur- 
gies. He  appeared,  however,  to  best  advantage  when  he 
gathered  a  select  few  of  the  theological  students  in  a  little 
oratory  he  had  arranged  in  the  quadrangle.     Thither  we 

33 


LIFE   OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

resorted  at  night  to  hear  a  simple  talk  from  his  heart  on  the 
work  of  the  ministry.  He  advised  the  leaving  open  of  the 
clergyman's  house-door  at  night,  in  order  that  poor  Nico- 
demuses,  fearful  of  being  seen  by  day,  might  seek  counsel 
unseen  at  night.  The  advice  of  the  good  Canon  might  be 
suitable  in  paradise,  but  rather  risky  in  our  state  of  civili- 
zation. We  were  great  friends,  and  I  used  to  go  early 
mornings  to  assist  him  in  a  sort  of  mass  which  was  cele- 
brated in  the  quaintest  little  mediaeval  Gothic  chapel,  at- 
tached to  an  old  convent  then  used  by  the  Anglican  Sisters 
of  St.  John  Baptist  as  a  reformatory  for  girls.  Dr.  King 
would  array  himself  in  colored  silken  vestments,  and,  at 
a  very  Catholic-looking  altar,  with  my  assistance,  perform 
what  was  called  a  celebration  of  the  Eucharist.  In  the 
early  morning  he  was  very  '  high,'  but  at  noon  in  the  ca- 
thedral he  was  quite  '  low,'  wore  the  old-fashioned  surplice 
down  to  the  heels,  and  took  the  northward  position  at  the 
communion  table,  of  which  the  chief  ornaments  were  two 
huge  brass  alms-basins  stood  up  on  edge.  I  never  could 
exactly  account  for  this  Dr.  Jekyll  and  Mr.  Hyde  conduct 
of  the  Canon.     But  he  was  otherwise  so  good  and  lovable." 

The  inconsistencies  in  religious  worship  at  Oxford  did 
not  escape  Van  Rensselaer's  notice  and  they  had  a  share,  no 
doubt,  in  undermining  whatever  belief  he  had  in  the  Angli- 
can position.     As  he  observes  in  his  narrative : 

"  Many  a  pre-Reformation  custom  has  survived  the 
change  of  religion,  although  they  have  become  in  most  in- 
stances meaningless ;  for  instance,  the  bidding  prayers  in  the 
various  chapels  and  in  the  university  church  for  deceased 
founders  and  benefactors.  Under  the  Protestant  regime 
they  are  senseless,  for  the  Established  Church  legislated  Pur- 
gatory out  of  existence,  and  therefore  she  does  not  pray  for 

34 


GERMANY  AND  OXFORD 

the  departed,  for  what  would  be  the  use?  If  they  are  in 
heaven  or  hell,  they  cannot  be  benefited  by  prayers.  So  the 
prayers  are  omitted,  and  only  the  names  read  out,  probably 
for  a  perpetual  memory  of  those  whose  benefactions  have 
gone  so  far  astray  from  the  intention  of  the  pious  donors, 
and  who,  if  they  could  return  to  life,  would  most  certainly 
not  recognize  as  their  beneficiaries  those  who  protest  against 
the  articles  of  the  old  faith  so  dear  to  their  hearts.  One  can- 
not help  being  impressed  by  this  act  at  every  turn  in  the  old 
university  town.  On  all  sides  are  the  superb  monuments  of 
the  ancient  faith  of  England,  proofs  of  the  love  of  the  found- 
ers for  that  faith,  and  of  their  desire  to  have  it  preserved  and 
strengthened  by  a  broad  education.  Many  of  the  estab- 
lishments were  originally  monastic.  In  other  cases  the  pro 
fessors  were  clerics,  or  if  not,  were  at  least  celibates. 
Strangely  enough,  this  last  obligation  holds  to-day  in  some 
of  the  colleges,  in  which  the  fellows  forfeit  their  fellowship 
upon  marriage. 

"  One  of  the  most  striking  cases  in  Oxford  of  the  over- 
turning of  the  intentions  of  the  founders  is  that  of  All 
Souls'  College.  It  was  founded  in  the  fourteenth  century 
as  a  chantry  for,  I  think,  twenty  fellows,  whose  duty  was 
to  offer  Mass  and  pray  for  the  son  Is  of  those  who  fell  in  the 
battles  of  Crecy  and  Agincourt.  The  present  holders  of  the 
revenues  are  simply  men  of  letters,  like  the  late  Max  Miiller, 
who  are  not  obliged  to  believe  anything  and  certainly  can- 
not, if  they  would,  do  anything  for  the  souls  of  those  for 
whose  sake  the  ample  foundation  was  made.  While  we 
were  in  Oxford,  some  repairs  being  necessary  in  the  chapel 
of  that  college,  a  superbly  carved  marble  reredos  was  dis- 
covered. This  the  iconoclastic  reformers  of  the  sixteenth 
century    had    seriously    damaged,    and    had    destroyed    the 

35 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  VAN   RENSSELAER 

statues  that  once  stood  in  the  rich,  Gothic,  canopied  niches. 
Not  satisfied  with  partial  destruction,  they  had  plastered 
up  the  whole  reredos  so  that  it  seemed  only  a  plain  wall. 
Phis  was  a  common  occurrence  in  England,  and  the  sub- 
stitute for  the  crucifix  was  the  royal  coat-of-arms,  the  lion 
and  the  dragon  rampant,  typical  indeed  of  those  who  had 
banished  the  Lamb  of  God  from  His  dwelling-place  in  the 
tabernacle  of  the  altar." 

As  the  Christmas  vacation  covered  several  weeks,  Van 
Rensselaer  proposed  spending  the  time  in  a  pilgrimage  to 
the  Holy  Land,  and  made  all  the  necessary  arrangements. 
In  an  unlucky  moment  he  informed  the  Cowley  Fathers  of 
his  intention  and  they  entreated  him  to  forego  it,  on  the  plea 
that  to  pass  the  time  in  a  sort  of  retreat  in  their  house  would 
be  for  his  greater  spiritual  advantage,  and  a  better 
preparation  for  the  reception  of  Holy  Orders.  He  al- 
lowed himself  to  be  persuaded  and  abandoned  the  pro- 
jected trip,  and  so  lost  his  only  chance  of  visiting  the  sa- 
cred places  of  Palestine.  "  I  have  always  borne  a  grudge," 
he  says,  "  to  those  who  deprived  me  of  this  golden  oppor- 
tunity." The  holidays  were  spent  in  great  part  in  re- 
ligious exercises  in  the  private  chapel  of  the  "  monastery." 
These  began  at  5  o'clock  in  the  morning  with  the  recital  of 
the  Divine  Office,  the  Breviary  in  English.  Then  came  a 
meditation  and  mass  (?).  The  whole  day  was  well  filled 
with  pious  reading,  meditation  and  reciting  of  the  Office. 
He  even  took  his  meals  with  the  community,  and  "  very 
frugal  ones  they  were  and  not  over-appetizing." 


36 


CHAPTER  V. 
Letters  From  Oxford. 

DURING  his  stay  at  Oxford,  Van  Rensselaer  wrote  once 
a  week  with  great  fidelity  to  an  intimate  friend  in 
America,  who  had  been  a  fellow-student  with  him  at  the 
General  Theological  Seminary,  and  to  whom  he  refers  in 
the  autobiographical  sketch  as  having  been  received  with  him 
into  the  Catholic  Church. 

These  letters,  with  proper  omissions,  are  given  here  in 
the  order  in  which  they  were  written.  Besides  throwing 
light  on  his  own  narrative  which  was  put  together  a  genera- 
tion later,  they  are  descriptive  of  interesting  phases  of  his 
religious  life  and  its  development. 


"31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 

"  October  10,  1875. 

"My  Dear  Francis : 

"  .  .  .  Wednesday  we  took  a  trip  into  the  country. 
It  was  a  perfect  day,  clear  as  possible  and  delightfully  cool. 
We  started  off  at  eight  o'clock  for  Warwick,  as  we  were 
anxious  to  see  the  famous  castle.  The  exterior  is  very  impos- 

37 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

ing,  and  the  grounds  beautiful,  the  Avon  flowing  through 
them.  I  was  rather  disgusted  with  the  interior.  Such  a 
chapel!  they  certainly  could  not  say:  'We  have  an  altar.' 
And  no  ornament  of  any  kind !  We  were  led  through  several 
rooms  where  there  was  nothing  unique  or  interesting  except 
one  or  two  pictures.  One  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney,  an  original 
of  Raphael,  a  Madonna  and  Child  with  Saints,  among  them 
your  patron,  St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  and  a  lovely  face  he  had, 
too.  I  should  like  you  to  have  seen  it.  We  were  also  fortu- 
nate enough  to  have  the  privilege  of  seeing  the  bed  in  which 
her  gracious  majesty,  Queen  Anne,  passed  the  night;  also 
her  travelling  trunk.  It  was  rather  a  bore,  as  we  have  seen 
so  much  of  that  sort  of  thing,  but  an  Englishwoman  who 
was  also  being  led  around,  seemed  much  impressed;  evi- 
dently she  was  green  at  it.  I  disgusted  the  major-domo  by 
asking  him  if  any  one  lived  in  the  castle,  being  ignorant  that 
there  was  still  an  '  Hearl '  of  Warwick.  We  rather  enjoyed 
going  up  on  the  old  walls,  and  up  the  tower,  but  the  best 
thing  was  an  old  woman  at  the  gate  who  had  a  small  room 
full  of  mementos  of  Guy,  '  Hearl '  of  Warwick,  who  lived 
about  900,  and  was  a  giant,  being,  as  she  said,  7  feet  11 
inches,  or,  as  she  added  for  our  instruction,  8  feet  lacking 
one  inch.  There  was  a  huge  iron  porringer  belonging  to  the 
said  '  Hearl,'  and  had  been  used  at  the  last  '  Head's  '  ma- 
jority for  a  punch  bowl.  She  said  '  hit  'olds  one  'undred 
gallons  of  brandy,  one  'undred  gallons  of  rum,  one  'undred 
pounds  of  sugar,  fifty  gallons  of  water,  hand  horanges,  hand 
lemons  hin  proportion.'  The  manner  of  jerking  this  out 
was  the  most  absurd  thing,  and  just  think,  on  the  eventful 
day  this  bowl  was  filled  three  times  with  punch.  We  nearly 
exploded  with  laughter  at  her  manner  and  tried  to  beat  a 
hasty  retreat,  but  she  begged  us  to  wait  for  we  hadn't  had 

38 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

the  best  thing  yet,  whereupon  she  seized  an  iron  flesh  hook 
and  beat  upon  the  porringer  to  show  us  that  it  was  not 
cracked,  till  we  thought  our  tympanums  were,  and  so  rushed 
out.  Next  we  went  in  a  carriage  to  Kenilworth,  five  miles 
off,  having  been  enticed  by  a  most  '  insinuating '  driver. 
On  the  way  we  stopped  at  a  place  which  he  said 
we  must  see;  we  tried  to  refuse  but  he  said,  '  You  misses  a 
treat  if  you  misses  that,'  and  appeared  so  sorrowful  that  to 
please  him  we  went  over  the  house  which  was  nine  hundred 
years  old,  but  nothing  remarkable  about  it  except  some  hid- 
eous pictures  by  a  young  gentleman  of  the  family  who,  either 
in  despair  at  his  attempts,  or  from  the  melancholy  at  behold- 
ing them,  deceased  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-two.  Some 
of  his  subjects  were  Shylock,  Lady  Macbeth,  and  the  Cave  of 
Despair,  representing  two  wretches  starving  to  death.  Can 
you  imagine  a  more  unhealthy  brain  ? 

"  At  length  we  reached  Kenilworth,  which  is  entirely  in 
ruins,  picturesque,  but  to  me,  who  had  only  an  indistinct 
remembrance  of  Amy  Robsart  and  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  not 
particularly  interesting.  .  .  .  Now  we  wanted  to  pro- 
ceed to  Stratford-on-Avon,  and  again  the  '  insinuating ' 
coachy  '  insinivated  '  himself  and  carriage,  picturing  to  us 
the  delights  of  driving  in  the  country,  the  roads  being,  he 
said,  as  straight  and  level  as  a  skittle  ground.  So,  as  it  was 
pleasant,  again  we  yielded,  thereby  spending  some  more 
money  needlessly.  We  drove  eight  miles  more  and  were 
landed  on  Charlecote  Park,  still  in  the  Lucy  family,  and  we 
walked  across  the  Park  where  Shakespeare  had  been  arrested 
for  poaching,  and  which  was  full  of  such  lovely  deer,  and  then 
we  were  to  walk  about  two  miles  and  so  reach  Stratford, 
at  least  so  said  our  '  insinuating '  coachman,  but  alas,  he 
was  a  fraud,  or  at  least  bad  at  figures,  for  he  should  have 

39 


LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN    RENSSELAER 

multiplied  two  by  two  and  then  would  have  been  nearer  the 
truth,  for  we  walked  and  walked ;  at  last,  however,  we 
reached  our  point,  the  church.  The  medallion  did  not  seem 
to  me  at  all  like  any  picture  of  Will  I  had  ever  seen,  and  in- 
stead of  being  white,  is  painted  an  naturel.  The  church  is 
now  in  Catholic  hands,  I  am  thankful  to  say.*  We  were 
intensely  disappointed  in  Stratford  itself,  expecting  a  pretty 
little  village  and  finding  a  commonplace  town  of  ten  thous- 
and inhabitants.  The  old  house  had  just  been  furbished  up 
and  looked  very  spick  and  span.  We  got  back  to  Oxford  at 
9  P.  M.,  after  a  very  pleasant  day's  excursion. 

"  We  had  a  treat  to-day.  Dr.  Pusey  preached  this  morn- 
ing at  the  Cathedral.  He  is  not  nearly  so  ugly  as  his  pic- 
ture makes  him.  He  is  short  and  thick-set,  rather  stooping, 
bending  under  his  weight  of  years  and  cares ;  he  is  seventy- 
five.  As  he  preached,  the  sunlight  streamed  round  his  head; 
giving  the  appearance  of  a  glory,  and  being  raised  above  us, 
we  did  not  see  the  skull-cap ;  he  is  a  dear  old  man,  with  such 
a  sweet  expression  and  intellectual.  He  preached  on  prayer ; 
a  beautiful  sermon,  so  simple  and  yet  so  true. 

"  I  am  reading  ahead,  but  I  have  a  wretched  memory. 
I  don't  see  how  anyone  who  has  read  Pusey  on  the  Real 
Presence  in  the  Church  of  England,  and  the  Fathers,  can 
help  being  convinced,  unless  he  be  possessed  of  invincible 
ignorance.  I  suppose  the  lectures  will  begin  next  week ;  the 
term  is  quite  short,  only  a  little  more  than  six  weeks.  Won't 
it  be  delightful  to  go  to  the  Holy  Land  or  Italy? 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry." 


^Throughout  these  letters  the  word  Catholic  is  invariably  used  for 
Anglican. 

40 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

"31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 

"  October  17,  1875. 
"  My  Dear  Francis  : 

"  .  .  .  Speaking  about  Absolution,  I  did  not  re- 
member, if  I  ever  knew,  that  our  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  had  left  out  that  very  useful  little  rubric  in  the  Visi- 
tation Office  about  urging-  to  a  special  confession,  as  also 
the  direct  form  of  Absolution.  It  was  brought  to  my  atten- 
tion by  Dr.  King's  saying  that  he  made  great  capital  of  it 
in  his  lectures  on  the  prayer  book,  whereupon  I  looked  it 
up,  and  alas,  our  dear  P.  E.  C.  had  omitted  it.  I  have  not 
had  a  chance  to  hear  what  remedy  he  can  suggest  consistent 
with  the  rubrics;  for  in  the  Visitation  of  Prisoners  we  are 
told  to  use  the  form  of  Absolution  in  the  Communion  Office. 
I  will  see  the  dear  soul  to-morrow  morning  after  Celebration 
at  this  Sister's  little  chapel,  where  I  go  every  Monday.  He  is 
the  most  sympathetic  and  safe  counsellor  one  could  desire; 
he  has  been  exceedingly  polite,  and  invited  me  to  dinner  on 
Wednesday. 

"  Oxford  is  full  now ;  all  the  graduates  and  fellows  have 
returned.  I  must  say  I  am  disappointed  in  their  appearance  ; 
they  have  not  the  style  that  elegant  Americans  possess  so 
eminently.  We  had  a  very  excellent  sermon  this  morning 
at  St.  Mary  the  Virgin,  before  the  University.  It  was  by 
the  Dean  of  Rochester,  Dr.  Scott.  Strange  to  say,  his  co- 
lexicographer,  Liddell,  also  discoursed  this  morning  at  the 
Cathedral.  The  service  consisted  of  enumerating  all  the 
things  for  which  one  ought  to  be  thankful  and  pray,  a  whole 
Catalogue  of  the  founders  of  Colleges,  concluding  with  the 
Lord's  prayer,  said  by  Dr.  Scott,  solo.     The  first  was  the 

41 


LIFE   OF   HENRY   VAN    RENSSELAER 

'  bidding  prayer,'  so  that  the  whole  service  consisted  of  the 
Lord's  prayer  and  the  Sermon,  a  beautiful  one  on  '  To  me 
to  die,'  etc.,  and  very  spiritual.  He  has  a  sweet  voice  and 
excellent  delivery.  For  early  celebration  we  went  as  usual 
to  St.  Cross.  .  .  .  Father  Benson  is  always  preaching 
on  the  same  subject,  the  Eucharist,  and  one  gets  rather 
weary  of  hearing  the  same  thing.  This  afternoon  I  went  to 
the  children's  service  at  St.  Barnabas',  and  was  as  much 
pleased  as  ever;  lots  of  young  men.  This  week  is  the 
dedication  festival,  and  Dr.  King  preaches  there  to-morrow 
night. 

"  This  week  the  lectures  begin ;  Liddon  three  times  a 
week,  Monday,  Wednesday  and  Friday,  from  11  to  12.  I 
believe  he  also  has  a  Bible  class  Sunday  evenings.  Dr. 
King's  are  Tuesday,  Thursday  and  Saturday,  from  11  to  12. 
Dr.  Bright,  Monday,  Wednesday  and  Friday,  from  12  to  1, 
on  the  Extracts  in  Eusebius.  As  I  have  been  reading  West- 
cott  on  the  Canon,  I  see  the  great  importance  of  Eusebius  and 
his  testimony  for  establishing  the  authenticity  of  the  Canoni- 
cal Books,  and  so  I  am  going  to  the  lectures.  He  also  lectures 
on  the  Canons  of  Chalcedon  on  Tuesdays  at  12.  Dr.  Pusey 
lectures  Tuesday,  Thursday  and  Saturday  at  9,  on  the 
Psalms  after  the  50th.  I  am  in  a  quandary  what  to  do. 
I  fear  he  is  too  far  advanced  in  Hebrew  for  me,  but  I  should 
like  to  hear  him  occasionally,  on  the  51st  for  instance. 
The  poor  Evangelists  [Father  Benson's  Order]  have  to 
write  Hebrew  prose  compositions.  .  .  .  It  is  very 
hard  to  keep  up  to  my  good  resolutions ;  sometimes  I 
am  almost  discouraged,  but  am  still  struggling  on.  Of 
course  one  always  finds  it  hard  to  break  old  habits,  and  then 
sometimes  one's  companions  are  a  little  aggravating.  Ora 
pro  nobis.    There  has  been  a  Priests'  Retreat  here,  seventy 

42 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

of  them;  it  looked  exactly  like  a  large  brotherhood  as  they 
passed  here  daily  on  their  way  to  the  church,  all  in  theii 
cassocks,  a  great  many  in  priests'  cloaks,  some  few  with 
short  Roman  Catholic  capes  and  birettas.  Is  the  Catholic 
movement  a  failure,  think  you?  All  four  of  the  Bishop's 
chaplains  were  present,  and  last  week  Father  Benson  gave  a 
Retreat  at  the  Bishop's  Palace.  Would  that  our  Bishops 
would  show  themselves  indeed  Fathers  in  God!  Speaking 
of  them,  I  hear  Father  Horatio  (Potter)  spoke  highly  in 
Convention  of  my  dear  Sisters'  German  work.  I  regret  to 
say  that  I  have  been  suffering  from  rheumatism,  owing  to 
the  damp  weather  and  cold  church  of  the  Evangelist  Fathers 
I  hope  it  will  not  be  serious  as  my  family  would  say 
it  was  a  judgment  on  my  coming  here  in  spite  of  the 
Bishop. 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry." 

"  31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 

"  October  24,  1875. 
"  My  Dear  Francis  : 

"  .  .  .  This  has  been  a  week  of  weeks  for  me, 
since  I  have  now  made  Dr.  Liddon's  acquaintance.  Tues- 
day was  the  day  for  registering  names  for  his  lectures,  so 
I  went  to  his  rooms.  I  mentioned  my  name  to  him,  saying 
I  had  met  him  at  Bonn,  whereupon  he  appeared  to  remem- 

43 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  VAN   RENSSELAER 

ber  me  and  said  we  must  know  each  other,  that  he  would 
be  very  busy  for  a  day  or  two,  but  would  I  come  and  break 
fast  with  him  on  Saturday?  As  you  may  readily  imagine 
I  did  not  decline.  .  .  .  Was  it  not  a  very  kind  and 
encouraging  reception?  He  lectured  twice  last  week,  and 
very  interestingly.  The  room  is  perfectly  quiet;  no  one 
dreams  of  speaking  or  asking  questions.  He  is  now  on  the 
seventh  chapter  of  Romans.  He  gave  me  an  analysis  of  the 
preceding  chapters,  and  I  got  him  to  write  my  name  on  it,  as 
corning  from  him. 

"  It  is  very  awkward  getting  from  one  lecture-room  tc 
another,  for  Dr.  Liddon  lectures  in  the  Clarendon  Building 
quite  a  distance  from  Christ  Church,  and  we  have  to  run 
and  even  then  come  in  late.  It  is  very  unpleasant,  as  we 
are  rather  marked  by  being  the  only  students  not  wearing 
caps  and  gowns.  Apparently  the  same  men  do  not  gc 
to  Dr.  Liddon's  and  Dr.  Bright's  lectures,  which  are 
on  the  same  day.  We  go,  however,  and  what  is  more,  intend 
going. 

"  We  were  most  favorably  impressed  by  Dr.  Bright.  He 
is  extremely  interesting,  has  a  very  brisk  and  vivacious  style 
and  is  full  of  humor.  His  subject  is,  '  The  Fragments  in 
Eusebius'  History.'  Last  time  it  was  upon  the  missionar) 
labors,  martyrdom,  etc.,  of  St.  Thomas,  St.  Andrew,  and 
the  question  of  St.  Peter's  stay  in  Rome.  I  found  it  quite 
delightful,  particularly  as  I  have  been  reading  about  the 
testimonies  of  the  Fathers,  in  Westcott.  Dr.  Bright,  al- 
though intensely  Catholic  and  poetical,  attaches  the  propel 
value  to  apocryphal  legends,  as  beautiful,  sometimes,  bu1 
not  of  course  of  historic  importance.  He  lectures  on  Tues 
days  on  the  Canons  of  Chalcedon,  so  that  we  shall  have 

Canon  Law. 

44 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

"  Thursday  was  my  birthday,  and  I  have  now  attained  the 
venerable  age  of  twenty-four,  and  am  beginning  to  feel  the 
weight  of  years.  I  celebrated  the  event  by  going  to  London 
to  stay  with  an  aunt  and  cousin  who  had  just  arrived  from 
home,  and  it  was  a  pleasure  to  see  them.  My  mother  sent 
me  over  by  them  a  beautiful  pair  of  sleeve  buttons,  black 
onyx,  with  my  monogram  engraved  in  white;  no  gold  set- 
ting showing;  they  are  exquisite,  but  too  handsome  for  poor 
1  Brother  Heinrich.'  I  went  to  a  nice  celebration  at  All 
Saints,  Margaret  Street.  I  was  only  a  day  and  a  night  in 
London  and  then  gladly  returned  to  Oxford,  although  I 
had  a  very  pleasant  visit. 

"  I  am  sure  you  are  anxious  to  hear  about  my  breakfast 
with  Dr.  Liddon.  It  took  place  in  a  little  cosy  room  open- 
ing into  his  large  library.  We  were  tete-a-tete.  For  love 
of  him  I  ate  sweetbreads.  I  think  first  we  had  fish,  and  he 
had  to  retire  with  a  bone  in  his  throat.  Then  came  what  he 
did  not  speak  of  by  name,  but  I  fear,  were  what  I  never 
could  eat  before,  sweetbreads ;  but  you  would  rather  hear  of 
him.  Well,  he  is  rather  short,  but  not  noticeably  so ;  his  head 
quite  large,  his  complexion  dark,  his  eyes  dark,  expressive 
and  beautiful ;  his  eyebrows  nearly  meet,  his  nose  rather 
large  and  aquiline,  his  mouth  quite  large,  his  teeth  white  and 
regular  without  being  handsome,  his  chin  decided,  his  hair 
greyish  and  worn  rather  short,  and  small  ultramontanes ; 
his  manner  of  speaking  earnest,  his  laugh  simple  and  hearty, 
his  clothes  not  well  cut,  as  if  he  did  not  trouble  about  them. 
He  is  rather  quiet,  so  that  I  had  to  do  most  of  the  talking. 
These  men  never  make  one  feel  out  of  ease  or  palpably 
ignorant;  anything  they  tell  you  they  tell  it  as  if  very  likely 
you  knew  it  already.  We  talked  chiefly  about  travelling 
and  the  Conference.     The  Cathedral  service  at  ten  gave  me 

45 


LIFE   OF   HENRY   VAN    RENSSELAER 

warning  when  to  make  my  exit.  I  said  to  him  that  he  must 
let  me  walk  with  him  sometimes  (it  is  the  custom  here),  and 
he  said  at  once,  '  When  shall  it  be?  A  bird  in  the  hand,  etc. 
Will  you  come  to-day  at  two  and  walk? '  Of  course  I  gladly 
accepted,  being  delighted  to  think  that  I  had  not  bored  him, 
and  that  he  could  stand  any  more  of  my  society  the  same 
day.  At  two  I  presented  myself.  The  weather  was  showery, 
and  the  walking  shockingly  muddy ;  the  whole  neighborhood 
is  flooded,  roads,  fields,  etc.  I  thought  very  likely  the  Doctor 
would  not  venture  out,  being  delicate,  but  he  never  omits 
his  walks,  so  off  we  started  to  see  the  progress  of  the  floods. 
Having  begun,  nothing  would  stop  him,  so  we  walked  in 
water  up  to  our  ankles,  and  in  one  place  we  had  actually  to 
get  into  a  punt  to  go  from  one  part  of  the  road  to  the  other ; 
but  he  stuck  to  his  purpose,  although  he  was  very  polite  and 
offered  frequently  to  turn  back  if  I  wanted,  but  naturally 
where  he  could  go,  I  was  going  too,  and  though  it  rained 
hard  he  minded  it  not  a  bit.  He  said  he  hated  to  be  balked. 
Truly  it  was  a  grand  sermon  for  me,  who  am  too  ready  to 
turn  back  and  give  up.  I  think  I  shan't  forget  the  lesson. 
We  were  gone  three  hours.  He  expressed  great  sorrow  at 
having  been  the  means  of  getting  me  such  a  wetting,  and 
hoped  we  should  have  a  pleasanter  day  the  next  time,  which 
would  be  soon. 

"  Liddon  never  preaches  here,  and  is  not  going  to 
have  his  Bible  class  now ;  perhaps  he  may  next  term.  You 
asked  about  his  way  of  pronouncing.  It  does  not  strike 
me  as  being  decidedly  broad  or  flat,  but  I  think  inclined 
rather  towards  the  latter.  He  has  also  rather  a  pretty 
stutter. 

"  On  St.  Luke's  Day,  in  the  evening,  we  went  to  St. 
Barnabas'.     It  was  the  week  of  Dedication  Festival,  and 

40 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

although  a  week  day,  a  large  congregation  was  present.  The 
service  was  very  nice,  with  incense  at  the  Magnificat  and 
during  the  procession.  Canon  King  preached  a  beautiful 
sermon  on  '  Only  Luke  is  with  me,'  deducing  from  it  the 
lesson  of  finishing  one's  friendships.  St.  Luke  having  writ- 
ten two  books  for  the  perfecting  of  one  friend,  also  from  his 
constancy  to  St.  Paul  through  thick  and  thin,  he  dilated  on 
the  little  trouble  we  were  willing  to  take  for  our  friends. 
It  came  with  great  force.  He  alluded  most  affectingly  to  the 
late  Bishop  Forbes.  Dr.  Liddon  told  me  the  last  time  he  had 
walked  in  the  fields  in  which  we  were  walking  had  been  with 
Bishop  Forbes. 

"  Dr.  King  preached  to-day  at  the  Cathedral  on  the 
Golden  Rule — as  usual,  excellent.  Dr.  Liddon  has  not  cut 
him  out  at  all  in  my  affections.  This  afternoon  we  heard 
Mr.  Curteis  at  St.  Mary  the  Virgin ; — a  very  interesting  ser- 
mon on  Christ,  the  image  of  the  invisible  God,  dealing 
with  all  the  philosophic  and  scientific  attempts  of  the  day  t< 
find  out  God  by  the  human  intellect,  and  the  utter  futility 
of  it.  He  is  the  author,  you  know,  of  '  Dissent  and  Church 
of  England.'  He  is  quite  young  and  has  a  very  good  face 
and  voice.  I  have  abandoned  the  idea  of  attending  Dr. 
Pusey's  lectures.  Liddon  says  the  old  Doctor  devotes  him- 
self chiefly  to  the  text,  and  to  refuting  objections  which  he 
takes  for  granted  every  one  knows.  I  have  bought  Keil 
and  Delitzsch  and  will  study  by  myself. 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry." 


47 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

"31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 

"  November  7,  1875. 
"  My  Dear  Francis  : 

"  .  .  .  It  is  very  refreshing  to  hear  of  a  good  class 
at  the  Seminary,  and  also  that  my  friends  are  getting  on  well. 
I  have  really  so  much  to  write  that  I  don't  know  where  to 
begin ;  and  so,  as  is  often  the  way,  I  shall  probably  end  by 
forgetting  the  half  that  I  would  say.  I  heard  an  interest- 
ing sermon  last  Sunday  at  the  University  Church,  by  Mr. 
Ffoulkes,  on  the  evidences  of  Christianity.  He  brought  for- 
ward a  new  one,  the  fact  that  all  the  records  of  antiquity, 
classics,  history,  everything,  were  due  to  Christian  care.  If, 
then,  the  classical  authors  are  accepted  as  genuine — and  who 
doubts  them? — then,  as  certainly,  must  the  writings  of  the 
Evangelists  and  Apostles  receive  the  same  treatment  at  the 
hands  of  the  critics.  It  seems  like  sound  reasoning,  and 
the  persons  to  whom  I  have  spoken  about  it  consider  it  so. 

.  .  .  "  A  great  feature  of  the  lecture  room  is  the 
perfect  quiet  that  reigns  there;  no  one  thinks  of 
speaking  either  to  the  lecturer  or  to  his  neighbor.  There 
does  not  seem  to  be  much  sociability  among  the  men ;  as  a 
rule,  they  do  not  know  each  other;  of  course  I  am  speaking 
about  University  lectures,  and  not  the  College  ones.  Per- 
haps, too,  the  Theologs  are  more  sober  in  their  deportment, 
but  I  have  never  seen  anything  but  the  most  dignified  be- 
havior in  the  streets  or  elsewhere.  I  did  not  expect  to 
find  so  young  a  set  of  men ;  to  be  sure,  at  the  schools  one 
sees  older  men  who  are  studying  for  their  degree,  but  the 
generality  are  not  older  than  the  men  at  our  colleges.  The 
Divinity  students,  with  whom  I  am  most  thrown,  would 

48 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

compare  favorably,  I  think,  with  our  seminarians,  though 
there  are  some  scrubby  looking  fellows — one,  who  exasper- 
ates me  by  going  regularly  to  Dr.  Liddon's  lectures,  and  as 
regularly  reading  books  on  Physical  Geography,  etc.,  all 
the  time.  I  suppose  he  goes  merely  to  have  his  name  down 
as  keeping  so  many  terms. 

"  Dr.  Bright  continues  to  interest  me  very  much,  and 
as  for  Dr.  King,  he  is  perfect.  There  is  not  a  single  thing 
about  him  that  I  could  wish  changed;  his  lectures  are  very 
interesting,  and  he  has  a  splendid  way  of  stating  good  Catho- 
lic doctrine,  so  that  people  cannot  take  alarm  or  offense; 
not  that  he  minces  matters  or  is  in  the  least  underhand. 
He  gives  a  meditation  on  some  point  of  the  priestly  life 
every  Friday  evening,  in  a  little  oratory  he  has  arranged  with 
a  prie-dieu  and  a  large  picture  of  The  Light  of  the  World. 
He  has  a  little  organ  also  and  wears  a  surplice  and  stole. 
He  opens  with  a  hymn  and  prayer  and  closes  in  like  manner ; 
then  he  sits  down  between  whiles,  looking  like  the  dear  saint 
he  is,  and  talks,  oh  so  beautifully  about  the  true  priest's 
life.  There  are  about  fifty  or  sixty  men  who  attend.  It  is 
entirely  a  labor  of  love,  as,  of  course,  it  does  not  belong  to 
the  University  course.  Think  of  exerting  such  an  influence 
on  so  many  men !  None  but  a  devoted,  unselfish  man  would 
do  it,  for  of  course  it  takes  time,  and  he  has  a  great  many 
demands  upon  him.  He  never  refuses  to  see  anyboly, 
however  busy  he  may  be,  but  gives  a  few  minutes  to  every 
one. 

"  I  hear  there  is  a  kind  of  conspiracy  against  the  splendid 
Christ  Church  quartette,  to  try  to  break  it  up;  at  least  it 
seems  so.  Dr.  Liddon  is  spoken  of  as  Bishop  of  Brechin, 
and  Dr.  King  as  Bishop  of  Bombay.  Would  it  not  be  out- 
rageous to  take  them  away  from  the  place  where  they  wield 

49 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

30  much  power  ?  I  hope  these  are  only  unfounded  rumors, 
or  that,  at  any  rate,  they  will  not  accept.  Surely  a  State 
appointment  could  not  be  twisted  into  a  call  from  above, 
so  as  to  necessitate  an  acceptance. 

"  Have  I  ever  abused  the  Cowley  Fathers  in  my  letters 
to  you?  If  so,  I  retract;  they  are  high  in  favor.  I  have 
just  come  back  from  Even-song  at  their  church;  it  was 
crowded.  I  noticed  some  of  our  fellow  theologs  there,  which 
augurs  well.  They  have  been  keeping  up  a  kind  of  a 
dedication  festival  ever  since  the  18th  of  October,  and 
have  a  procession  with  cross  and  banners  around  the  church 
every  Sunday  evening.  The  Father  preached  a  good  sermon, 
too. 

"  This  morning  I  went  to  St.  Barnabas'.  They  have  an 
attractive  service  there  always,  and  the  singing  is  grand  in  its 
heartiness.  They  sing  in  unison,  and  use  Gregorian  tones. 
The  vicar  preached  a  sermon  demonstrating  from  the  Bible, 
especially  from  Revelations,  the  propriety  of  using  incense. 
It  was  good  enough,  but  rather  trivial.  They  gave  an  illus- 
tration of  the  use  of  it  which  of  course  suited  me  very  well.  I 
saw  lots  of  theologs  there. 

"  I  am  struggling  on  and  up,  I  hope.  It  is  wonderful  how, 
as  the  spiritual  life  deepens,  one  appreciates  the  beauty  and 
use  of  things  before  unappreciated.  Now,  as  one  draws 
closer  to  the  head,  one  learns  the  truth  and  meaning  of  the 
Communion  of  Saints,  and  realizes  that  one  must  make  men- 
tion of  those  who  have  finished  their  course  in  faith  and"  that 
the  Blessed  Saints  have  an  interest  in  him  as  one  of  the  elect 
whose  consummation  they  are  praying  for  and  anxiously 
expecting. 

"  The  epistle  to  Philemon  was  read  this  morning  as  a 
second  lesson.     I  immediately  thought  of  you,  for  surely 

50 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

it  expresses  our  relationship ;  it  was  the  coming  to  learn  how 
to  serve  the  Lord  that  threw  us  together;  surely  that  same 
Blessed  Lord  will  ever  protect  and  cement  the  purest  of  all 
friendships — one  begun,  continued,  and  I  trust  it  may  be 
ended  in  Him. 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry." 

"31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 

"  November  14,  1875. 
"  My  Dear  Francis  : 

"  .  .  .1  have  not  so  very  much  to  tell  you  this  week, 
still  what  little  there  is  you  shall  have.  I  thought  I  ought 
to  have  another  walk  with  Canon  Liddon,  so  I  stopped  to 
speak  to  him  before  the  lecture  and  asked  him  whether  he 
was  not  going  to  give  me  another  walk.  He  received  me  very 
kindly,  and  said  he  would  that  very  day,  Monday,  so  I  went 
after  him  at  lunch  time,  and  then  we  started  off.  It  was  a 
lovely  day,  and  we  went  up  tx>  the  hills.  He  talks  so  pleas- 
antly and  kindly  that  one  feels  at  perfect  ease  with  him — at 
least  I  do.  I  asked  him  what  he  thought  about  taking  vows 
of  celibacy.  We  had  quite  a  long  talk  about  it.  He  seems 
to  think  it  perfectly  right  to  do  so,  of  course,  after  very 
serious  consideration.  He  naturally  favors  the  single  state, 
although  not  disparaging  marriage  before  ordination,  a 
canon  of  the  undivided  church,  as  you  know,   forbidding 

51 


LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

marriage  of  priests.  I  thought  Mr.  Olmstead  believed 
in  the  Church  and  the  faith,  which  he  used  to  emphasize, 
hut  when  bishops  set  the  example  what  can  be  expected  ?  It 
is  horrid  about  Bishop  Hare.  I  would  rather  die  at  my  post, 
and  SO'  would  Liddon.  He  expressed  himself  so,  apropos 
of  Bishop  Roger. 

"  I  consulted  my  angelic  Dr.  King  on  the  same  subject 
some  time  ago.  He  is  a  celibate  himself,  you  know,  but  has 
never  actually  taken  any  vow,  I  understood  him  to  say. 
He  does  not  disapprove  of  them,  but  said  that  circumstances, 
temptations  and  temperaments  would  decide  as  to  their  ne- 
cessity. He  advised  me  to  consult  Mr.  Carter,  but,  as  I  told 
him,  I  considered  his  advice  as  good  as  any  one's,  in  fact 
better,  inasmuch  as  he  is  a  practiser  of  all  that  he  preaches. 
I  have  quite  decided  upon  the  step,  the  time  only  is  uncer- 
tain. If  I  had  gone  to  the  Holy  Land  at  Christmas  time,  as 
I  had  thought  of  doing,  I  think  I  should  have  taken  the  vow 
at  the  Holy  Sepulchre  or  one  of  the  sacred  places ;  but  now 
that  I  have  nearly  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  would  be 
more  profitable  to  stay  here  quietly  and  study,  I  shall  have 
to  settle  upon  another  time  and  place.  But,  to  return  to 
the  Canon. 

"  We  had  a  very  pleasant  walk.  We  talked  at  some  length 
on  the  connection  of  the  right  belief  in  the  Incarnation  and 
the  Eucharist.  He  is  always  willing  to  talk  on  any  subject 
I  introduce. 

"  Well,  as  you  know,  he  invited  me  to  dinner.  I  went  ex- 
pecting one  or  two  persons,  but  found  a  large  party,  twelve 
in  all.  They  have  an  awkward  way  here  of  not  introducing 
people,  so  I  thought  it  would  have  been  very  stupid,  but  it 
proved  otherwise.  Our  places  were  not  arranged,  but  I  fool- 
ishly sat  mvself  down  at  the  end  of  the  table  from  Liddon, 

52 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

but  was  next  to  Mr.  Dodgson,  the  author  of  '  Alice  in  Won- 
derland.' He  was  exceedingly  agreeable  and  amusing. 
Another  of  the  party  was  Gladstone's  youngest  son,  a  re- 
fined, handsome  fellow.  I  had  a  little  conversation  with 
him,  and  altogether  we  had  a  very  enjoyable  time. 

"  You  cannot  conceive  how  delightful  it  is  to  have  some 
one  to  whom  you  can  go  for  advice,  such  as  my  angelic 
Dr.  King,  though  he  is  not  my  confessor.  I  was  getting  a 
little  disheartened  at  the  amount  of  work  I  ought  to  be 
doing,  and  the  reality.  He  is  always  sympathetic  and  en- 
couraging. I  told  him  my  great  defect,  the  inability  to 
analyze,  so  the  dear  soul,  entering  into  my  difficulty,  took  a 
sermon  and  analyzed  it  for  me,  and  said  I  must  write  him 
an  analysis  of  a  sermon  every  week  and  he  would  criticize 
it ;  also  he  would  try  to  systematize  my  studies  more  for  me. 
Isn't  he  one  among  ten  thousand  ?  Would  that  we  had  such 
men  at  home !  We  had  a  pleasant  Friday  evening  with  him 
and  discussed  the  subject  of  conducting  services.  As  he  does 
everything  well  himself,  he  is  fitted  to  teach  others.  He  is 
very  impartial,  giving  occasionally  a  warning  to  the  advanced 
as  to  the  tendency  of  slurring  over  the  pro-anaphoral  service 
in  this  particular  instance.  He  is  not  in  the  least  afraid 
of  speaking  Catholic  truth,  but  at  the  same  time  does  it  so 
as  not  to  offend.  There  were  more  present  than  last  week, 
in  fact  the  oratory  was  crowded. 

"  I  went  to  the  Sisters'  little  chapel  this  morning  and 
served  for  Liddon.  He  is  a  beautiful  celebrant ;  every  word 
seems  to  come  from  his  heart,  and  he  looks  so  well  in  the 
vestments.  I  had  asked  his  permission  to  serve  the  other 
day  but  was  not  altogether  sure  he  liked  it,  so  I  said  after 
the  service,  that  I  hoped  he  did  not  mind  having  a  server. 
He  replied,  '  Oh,  no,  it  is  a  great  delight  to  have  you,'  and 

53 


LIFE   OF   HENRY   VAN    RENSSELAER 

called  me  '  dear  friend/  and  said  we  must  have  another  walk 
soon.  At  the  second  service  I  heard  Father  Benson,  and  this, 
afternoon  Jowett.  What  a  varied  experience  in  one  day, 
Liddon,  Benson  and  Jowett !  The  latter  is  anything  but  at- 
tractive :  a  great,  round,  fat  face,  with  hooked  nose  and  re- 
treating mouth.  He  wears  a  very  low  cut  waistcoat,  white 
choker  and  black  gown.  It  is  rather  a  good  thing  that  he 
does  not  affect  clerical  attire.  His  sermon  was  long  and 
utterly  commonplace,  nothing  unorthodox  really,  but  only 
a  low  conception.  It  was  on  the  '  Temple  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  which  temple  ye  are.'  He  began  with  a  long  account 
of  Solomon's  and  the  second  temple,  which  every  one  might 
have  known,  then  the  temple  of  Nature,  then  our  souls. 
There  was  not  a  single  original  thought  or  expression,  and 
on  such  a  subject  too !     .     .     . 

"  The  chapel  of  Balliol  is  handsome ;  the  service,  with  its 
very  old  double  Anglican  chants,  reminded  me  of  the  semi- 
nary. The  prayers  were  said  apparently  for  another  congre- 
gation, for  those  present  never  made  them  theirs  by  respond- 
ing. It  is  the  only  service  I  have  been  to  in  England  where, 
in  place  of  the  Magnificat  and  Nunc  Dimittis,  they  have  sung 
the  Cantate  Domino  and  the  Deus  Misereatur.  The  change 
betrays  the  Master's  hand  of  Jowett,  who  probably  is  unable 
to  appreciate  the  Hymns  of  the  Incarnation.  Such  a  cold 
service  I  do  not  wish  to  attend  again.      .      .  I  am 

getting  on  very  well  and  feel  that  I  am  making  progress  in 
the  art  of  meditating  and  in  meditation,  and  I  realize  as  I 
never  could  before  the  great  dogmas  of  our  religion.     .     . 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry." 
54 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

"  31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 

"  November  21,  1875. 
"  My  Dear  Francis  : 

"  .  .  .  It  is  delightful  to  me  to  study  this  year  like 
a  responsible  being,  and  not  to  be  forced  to  recite  verbatim 
what  any  received  text-book  contains.  ...  I  wish 
you  could  drop  into  some  of  Dr.  King's  lectures;  the  last 
was  on  Liturgies,  some  of  which  he  deduced  from  the  writ- 
ings of  Tertullian,  Cyprian  and  Augustine.  I  was  astonished 
to  find  them  so  exactly  like,  in  most  respects,  our  present  ad- 
vanced forms.  It  is  splendid  to  have  all  these  points  forced 
upon  the  attention  of  men  who  could  never  dream  of  read- 
ing them  for  themselves,  for  when  given  by  such  men, 
in  such  a  way,  they  are  bound  to  make  an  impres- 
sion. And  strange  to  say,  no  one  is  offended.  We  had 
a  beautiful  meditation  on  the  Eternal  Word  before  the  In- 
carnation ;  the  next  two  are  to  be  upon  the  Word  Incarnate, 
and  on  earth ;  and  then  on  Him,  now  in  glory. 

"  I  went  to  the  Sisters'  this  morning  to  serve  Liddon ;  he 
is  such  a  reverent  celebrant,  though  nothing  of  a  ritualist. 
He  called  me  '  dear  friend  '  again.  Is  it  not  strange  to  be 
writing  about  Canon  Liddon  in  such  a  way? 

"  I  had  to  break  off  here  and  go  to  my  dinner  at  Pembroke. 
I  had  a  charming  time.  It  was  in  the  large  hall,  but  the 
men  have  small  tables  and  kind  of  mess  or  club  arrange- 
ment. .  .  .  Well,  after  a  pleasant  dinner  we  ad- 
journed to  St.  Barnabas',  which,  as  usual,  was  crowded. 
The  sermon  was  remarkable.  It  was  an  attack  on  Rome 
owing  to  the  opening  by  that  communion  of  a  new  church 
here  as  a  kind  of  proselyting  establishment.     The  building 

55 


LIFE   OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

was  intended  for  a  Roman  Catholic  College,  of  which  NewT- 
man  was  to  have  been  the  head,  but  it  was  squelched,  and  so 
they  had  the  building  on  their  hands.  They  have  resorted 
to  the  expedient  of  starting  a  church,  although  they  have 
no  people  here  to  fill  it.  Mr.  Noel,  the  preacher,  was  exceed- 
ingly violent,  and  begged  no  one  to  be  present  at  the  opening 
of  what  he  would  not  call  a  church,  by  a  schismatical  Bishop 
for  the  express  purpose  of  poaching.  Every  one  who  went 
would  be  guilty  of  the  sin  of  schism.  I  did  think  of  going, 
as  I  wanted  to  hear  Manning,  but  I  think  it  would  be  wrong 
and  so  shall  resist. 

"  I  may  go  to  see  Father  Corbet  of  the  Fathers  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  also  some  of  the  Sisterhoods  and  London 
churches,  and  if  possible  some  retreat.  I  have  travelled 
much  already,  and  have  no  excuse  for  being  on  the  move 
for  change  of  scene.  I  am  perfectly  well,  so  health  is  no 
plea.  It  is  good  for  me,  who  have  everything  so  propitious, 
to  begin  and  make  a  little  sacrifice.  I  am  afraid  sometimes 
when  I  think  that  '  to  whom  much  is  given  from  him/  etc., 
etc.     ... 

God  grant  that  we  may  work  together  some  day  as 
Brothers.  Concentration  is  strength,  and  Religious  Orders 
are  a  standing  reminder  to  a  worldly  age,  that  true  Christian 
self-abnegation  is  not  a  thing  of  the  past  nor  antagonistic  to 
culture. 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry." 


56 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

"31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 
"  Advent  Sunday,  November  28,  1875. 
"  My  Dear  Francis  : 

"  .  .  .  There  has  been  great  excitement  in  Oxford 
about  the  opening  of  the  Roman  Catholic  chapel,  as  they 
call  it.  They  place  it  on  a  footing  with  dissenting  meeting- 
houses, and  so  will  not  call  it  church.  Well,  of  course, 
all  good  Catholics  stayed  away,  the  Confraternity  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament,  and  the  Brotherhood  of  the  Holy 
Trinity  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge  enjoining  it,  and  the 
Warden  of  Keble  and  other  colleges  speaking  very  strongly 
against  it.  You  cannot  conceive  how  very  intensely  they 
feel  about  it,  calling  it  schism  and  every  other  ugly  name. 
Undoubtedly  Roman  Catholics  stand  on  a  very  different 
footing  here  with  us. 

"  I  dined  at  Keble  last  Monday.  It  was  quite  imposing, 
as  there  are  one  hundred  and  twenty  students ;  they  all 
rose  as  the  Dons  passed  by,  my  humble  self  among  them. 
Rev.  Mr.  Mylne,  my  entertainer,  is  a  very  agreeable  and 
genial  man. 

"  Dr.  King  has  been  lecturing  on  the  part  of  Hooker 
we  studied  last  year  and  has  made  it  exceedingly  interesting. 
I  can  hardly  believe  it  to  be  the  same  as  what  we  had  to  re- 
cite to  Dr.  Buel.  Dr.  King  throws  love  into  very  dogma, 
and  life  at  the  same  time.  I  am  quite  encouraged  at  my 
ability  to  understand  the  Greek  and  Latin  quotations  from 
the  Fathers. 

"  We  had  a  most  beautiful  meditation  on  Friday  on  the 
Word  Incarnate  on  earth,  and  Head  of  the  Church  Militant. 

57 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

The  room  was  full  to  overflowing.  Dr.  King  inspires  every 
listener,  and  he  has  the  most  wonderful  faculty  of  bring- 
ing out  of  well-worn  incidents  in  the  Bible,  new  and  un- 
thought  of  lessons.  Speaking  of  the  demoniac  in  the  country 
of  the  Gadarenes,  he  said  there  was  a  road  made  dangerous 
by  the  attacks  of  this  man  possessed,  '  so  that  no  one  dared 
to  go  by  that  way.'  That  was  the  very  road  Our  Lord 
chose.  So  must  His  priests  choose  the  ways  where  they 
may  be  insulted,  may  be  injured  bodily;  and  they  must 
make  efforts  to  reclaim  the  men.  Everything  he  says  is 
so  perfectly  simple,  yet  so  true,  and  so  full  of  holy  love. 
His  own  life  is  a  sermon  which  everyone  may  read  and 
copy.     .     .     . 

"  Did  I  speak  of  Young,  whom  I  met  at  Leary's?  Well, 
he  is  a  most  fascinating  little  man,  very  attractive 
looking  and  very  charming  in  conversation.  He  very  po- 
litely invited  me  to  breakfast  with  him  at  Pembroke.  There 
were  eight  fellows  there  and  it  was  exceedingly  pleasant. 
It  gave  me  an  idea  how  delightful  college  life  here  must  be. 
Is  it  not  funny  to  be  entertained  by  people  who  don't  know 
your  name  or  mention  theirs  when  they  give  the  invitation  ? 
We  came  to  the  conclusion  that  one  of  the  most  effective  mis- 
sionaries, was  a  church  store  where  there  was  an  attractive 
window  and  enticing  little  books  lying  about  in  people's  way, 
the  store  being  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  church, 
if  possible,  where  people  would  be  obliged  to  pass  it  going  to 
the  services.  The  talk  began  by  speaking  of  a  most  enticing 
and  gorgeous  shop  opened  here  in  connection  with  the  so- 
called  Roman  Schism. 

"  Dr.  Pusey  preached  this  morning,  to  a  large  congrega- 
tion at  the  Cathedral,  a  beautiful  sermon  on  '  Consider 
your  ways.'     They  are  going  to  '  restore '  the  University 

58 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

Church,  St.  Mary  the  Virgin,  here.  It  is  rather  a  pity,  I 
think.  It  will,  of  course,  improve  the  appearance  of  the 
church  from  an  artistic  point  of  view,  but  it  will  destroy 
its  distinctiveness.  The  undergraduates'  gallery  will  be 
pulled  down,  and  the  present  arrangement,  by  which  the 
pulpit  is  made  the  central  point,  around  which  are  arranged 
the  seats  for  the  different  grades  of  scholarship — D.D., 
M.A.,  B.A. — altered.  If  you  want  to  see  it  as  in  the  days 
when  Newman  and  others  entranced  the  University,  you 
must  come  over  very  soon.  I  don't  know  when  they 
begin  operations;  perhaps  it  may  be  deferred,  as  Burgon, 
who  is  Vicar,  and  very  instrumental  in  the  change,  has 
been  made  Dean  of  Chichester.  ...  I  think,  perhaps, 
I  may  run  up  to  London  for  Sunday  to  hear  Liddon  in  St. 
Paul's. 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry." 


"  Charing  Cross  Hotel,  London, 

"  December  5,  1875. 
"  My  Dear  Francis  : 

"  Here  I  am  in  London  for  the  express  purpose  of  Lid- 
don, and  I  was  more  than  satisfied  this  afternoon  by  his 
sermon.  We  went  an  hour  and  a  quarter  before  the  time, 
and  got  to  St.  Paul's  just  as  the  doors  were  opened,  and  so 
succeeded  in  getting  excellent  seats.  In  a  few  minutes  the 
whole  choir  and  the  space  under  the  dome  were  packed. 

59 


LIFE   OF   HENRY    VAN    RENSSELAER 

There  must  have  been  several  thousand  people,  I  should 
think.  Well,  we  had  Even-song  very  well  sung,  without 
any  accompaniment,  and  then  the  sermon  from  the  epistle 
for  the  day.  '  Whatsoever  things  were  written/  etc.  The 
Bible  was  the  theme,  and  grandly  handled;  his  delivery 
was  splendid,  he  was  very  distinct  and  very  impressive.  The 
sermon  was  written,  but  very  rlowingly  delivered.  He  has 
a  way  of  throwing  up  his  head,  as  if  to  give  out  the 
words  with  greater  distinctness  and  emphasis ;  he  used  very 
few  gestures,  but  those  were  very  effective;  the  use  of  the 
hands  varied,  sometimes  using  only  the  forefinger,  at  others 
the  whole  outspread.  His  a's  are  not  broad.  His  face  looked 
very  handsome ;  he  seemed  much  excited  and  was  very  hot. 
He  stayed  up  in  the  pulpit  and  sang  the  hymn  very  heartily, 
and  then  gave  the  benediction.  I  was  exceedingly  in- 
terested and,  fearing  to  be  disappointed,  was  the  more  de- 
lighted. It  lasted  forty-five  minutes,  but  seemed  short.  He 
is  one  of  the  very  few  preachers  whose  sermons  I  could 
wish  to  be  longer;  but  I  must  travel  backwards  in  my 
account. 

"  I  went  to  early  celebration  at  All  Saints,  and  feeling 
quite  at  home  there,  enjoyed  it  very  much.  I  then  went  to 
Mass  at  St.  Anselm's  Roman  Catholic  Church,  to  hear  Man- 
ning. I  cannot  say  I  feel  altogether  easy  about  going  to 
Roman  Catholic  Churches  in  England,  for  they  are  schis- 
matic here.  Still  I  went.  The  service  was  very  good;  they 
had  a  male  quartette  choir ;  the  treble  boy  had  a  lovely  voice, 
and  so  had  the  tenor,  who  sang  a  beautiful  Ave  Maria.  Well, 
his  Eminence  preached.  I  had  a  splendid  seat  in  the  gallery 
directly  opposite  to  him.  He  looks  very  old  and  is  exceed- 
ingly thin.  He  wore  a  violet  soutane,  lace  alb,  violet  cape ; 
and  kept  his  scarlet  biretta  on  all  the  time,  only  touching  it 

GO 


I 

HENRY    VAX     RENSSELAER    AT    OXFORD 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

when  he  remembered  to  do  so  at  the  Sacred  Name.  His  text 
was, '  We  must  all  appear  before  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ' 
etc.  Strange  to  say,  he  never  mentioned  purgatory,  but 
said  the  hour  of  death  would  be  the  hour  of  our  judgment. 
He  said  one  thing  I  didn't  quite  understand,  in  speaking  of 
our  relationship  to  Our  Lord.  He  spoke  of  our  having  the 
same  Eternal  Father,  and  then  added,  the  same  Immaculate 
Mother,  and  concluded  by  begging  everyone  to  say  a  '  Hail 
Mary  '  for  those  who  at  that  moment  might  be  going  to 
meet  their  Judge.  Otherwise  it  was  exactly  what  any  one  of 
our  priests  might  have  preached.  Of  course  he  preached 
without  notes  and  without  hesitation.  It  was  very  solemn  and 
impressive,  coining  from  such  an  old  man.  The  church  was 
not  a  large  one,  the  congregation  a  poor-looking  lot,  very 
few  nice  people.  On  the  stairs  was  a  mite  box  inscribed 
'  For  Masses  for  the  souls  in  Purgatory.'  It  was  singular 
the  Cardinal  should  not  have  mentioned  purgatory  at  all, 
wasn't  it? 

"  Last  Sunday  night  we  went  to  Segur's  rooms  in  Exeter 
College  to  Compline.  There  were  about  twenty  or  thirty 
men  there,  all  Catholics,  but  a  different  set.  They  were  all 
very  manly  fellows,  quite  old;  many  of  them  great  boating 
men.  It  is  so  pleasant  to  see  such  men  taking  a  lively  inter- 
est in  the  church.  A  great  many  were  candidates  for  Orders. 
They  all  belong  to  some  church  society  and  have  Compline 
Sundays,  Wednesdays  and  Fridays. 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry." 


61 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

"31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 

"December  13,  1875. 
"  My  Dear  Francis  : 

"  .  .  .  I  left  London  on  Monday,  at  which  time 
Bartholomew  expected  to  sail  during  the  week  for  home. 
What  was  my  surprise  to  get  a  telegram  from  him  the  same 
evening  saying  that  he  had  changed  his  plans  and  was  going 
to  the  East,  and  asking  me  to  accompany  him,  but  I  declined- 
It  was  a  little  tempting,  for  I  wanted  to  go  to  the  Holy  Land, 
but  I  had  made  up  my  mind  that  one  ought  to  practise  a  little 
self-denial  and  not  do  everything  one  wishes.  Besides,  I  have 
a  great  deal  to  learn  yet,  so  I  was  firm  and  telegraphed  back, 
'  No.'  Fancy  me,  if  you  can,  so  resolute.  I,  who  last  Spring 
needed  so  much  bolstering.  My  whole  life  is  so  completely 
changed  by  being  here,  I  can  really  feel  now  that  I  am  alive ; 
before,  I  was  merely  passively  existing;  before,  I  did  not 
know  what  it  was  to  think ;  now,  my  faculties  are  being  de- 
veloped. Father  Benson  gave  me  a  shake  mentally  and  set 
me  vibrating,  and  Dr.  King  has  kept  me  going  so  steadily 
that  I  hope  to  be  so  regulated  when  I  leave  them,  that  I 
shall  be  able  to  keep  up  to  the  mark. 

"  The  Dr.  gave  us  a  beautiful  meditation  on  the  Vision  of 
Isaiah,  sixth  chapter.  The  meetings  are  over  for  the  nonce. 
Next  term  he  will  give  a  course  in  self-examination,  and  in 
Lent  on  the  Seven  Deadly  Sins.  The  dear  soul  has  to  preach 
ten  sermons  this  week,  so  you  can  see  in  what  demand  he  is. 
It  is  a  delight  to  hear  him  treat  any  dogma;  he  does  it  so 
reverently  and  lovingly  and  tenderly  that  one  learns  to  ap- 
preciate what  the  Faith  is.  It  makes  me  sad  to  think  of  the 
way  the  same  great  subjects  are  treated  at  the  G.  T.   S. ; 

62 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

wrangling,  bitterness,  narrowness;  love  and  reverence  en- 
tirely eliminated. 

I  am  trying  to  keep  Advent  Season  very  care- 
fully. I  get  up  every  morning  at  five,  and  go  to  Lauds 
at  the  Fathers'  at  six,  followed  by  Prime  and  a  celebration, 
and  then  we  adjourn  to  the  church  for  matins.  I  return 
home  to  breakfast  at  eight.  During  the  day  I  read  and  take 
a  walk.  I  keep  all  the  canonical  hours  and  am  quite  frugal  in 
my  fare.  I  find  it  very  satisfactory.  My  meditations  are  im- 
proving, and  altogether  I  am  quite  encouraged  in  my  efforts 
for  a  deeper  and  more  spiritual  life.  Although  so  entirely 
alone,  I  do  not  feel  at  all  lonely,  but  am  very  happy.  I  am  be- 
ginning to  realize  what  it  is  to  have  one's  life  hid  with  Christ, 
and  to  feel  that  He  is  indeed  the  Life.  Anything  that  holds 
us  back  from  Him  must  be  gladly  thrown  away,  cheerfully 
given  up. 

I  have  been  reading  a  French  book  of  the  Abbe  Perreyve 
'  Meditations  sur  les  Saints  Ordres.'  My  spirit  is  stirred 
that  all  Roman  Catholic  priests  should  count  it  all  joy  to 
give  up  all  for  Christ,  and  speak  of  that  entire  'abandon '  and 
c  detachement/  while  the  great  mass  of  Anglican  Catholics, 
not  at  all  advanced,  should  be  content  to  mix  up  the  service 
of  God  and  the  world.  Oh,  what  selfishness,  what  a  low 
view  of  the  priestly  life!  Let  us  give  ourselves  indeed  to 
Him;  not  anv  half  offering,  which  cannot  be  acceptable  to 
Him.      .      .      . 

December  14. 

".  .  .  We  had  a  fine  sermon  on  the  day  of  Interces- 
sion, from  Dr.  King,  at  the  University  Church.  Although 
a  week-night  the  church  was  crowded.     The  dear  man  has 

63 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

great  power.  Last  week  he  gave  a  splendid  lecture  on  the 
Eucharist,  proving  from  the  Fathers  a  real  objective  pres- 
ence. I  am  sorry  to  say  that  we  shall  miss  his  last  lecture 
to-morrow.  His  Friday  meditation  was  beautiful.  It  was 
on  the  lessons  to  be  learnt  from  Our  Lord's  life  now  in 
Heaven,  as  Intercessor.  One  point  was,  when  priests  grow 
too  old  to  preach  and  do  active  work,  they  ought  not  to 
think  they  have  nothing  more  to  do;  let  them  rejoice  that 
young  men  should  do  their  former  active  duties,  leaving  to 
them  more  time  at  the  altar  for  their  flock,  and  living  a 
more  hidden  life  with  God.  But  I  can't  begin  to  do  justice 
to  the  theme.  The  lecture  was,  as  usual,  very  well  at- 
tended.     ..." 

Yours  affectionately, 

Henry. 

"31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 

"December  19,   1875. 
"  My  Dear  Francis  : 

"  .  This  last  week  has  gone  very  uneventfully, 

and  the  time  seems  to  go  very  quickly.  I  do  not  seem  to 
accomplish  very  much  reading,  but  I  certainly  am  begin- 
ning to  grasp  theology.  I  am  very  much  interested  in  Wil- 
berforce  on  the  Incarnation.  I  like  the  tone ;  it  is'  so  reveren- 
tial. I  am  getting  to  understand  what  the  Incarnation  really 
is.  I  think  too  many  people  believe  in  it  as  a  thing  of  the 
past.  I  am  sure  that  I  for  my  part  never  until  very  lately 
began  to  realize  it.     I  enjoy  Forbes  on  the  Creed  and  Arti- 

64 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

cles,  too,  exceedingly.  I  go  through  Browne,  as  a  matter  of 
duty  first,  always  feeling  pro  test  ant  to  his  statement,  and 
then  fall  back  on  Forbes  for  support.  I  am  trying  to  get 
a  general  idea  of  Ecclesiastical  History,  but  find  it  very  con- 
fusing, particularly  the  early  and  middle  centuries ;  yet  it  is 
so  very  necessary  when  one  appeals  to  antiquity  to  be  able 
to  give,  as  it  were,  chapter  and  verse. 

I  am  becoming  quite  ascetic,  more  so  than  Mrs.  Aldridge, 
my  good  landlady,  thinks  good  for  me,  and  I  have  taken  her 
advice  and  moderated  a  little.  My  diet  was  the  point  in  ques- 
tion, as  I  was  confining  myself  pretty  much  to  vegetable 
food.  I  really  think  it  is  good  for  one's  mind;  at  least  I 
found  it  so.  Mrs.  A.  says  I  have  been  living  too  low,  and 
that  it  is  very  wrong  to  do  so  in  this  climate,  where  one 
requires  animal  food  and  some  kind  of  drink.  I  am  rather 
convinced  that  there  is  some  truth  in  it.  She  scared  me  by 
telling  me  that  I  should  have  boils  and  all  kinds  of  troubles 
if  I  were  not  careful,  so  verbum  sap.  I  have  reformed  a 
little  as  to  food,  but  not  as  to  drink.  I  must  say,  though, 
it  does  destroy  one's  spirituality  a  little,  at  least  mine,  but 
I  am  an  odd  case.  I  have  been  successful  in  waking  up  at 
the  right  time  this  last  week,  at  about  five,  so  that  I  have 
been  able  to  go  every  morning  to  Lauds  at  six  at  the  Mis- 
sion House,  staying  through  Prime  and  Celebration.  I  find 
it  all  a  great  help;  then  Matins  at  7.30  and  breakfast  at  8. 
I  am  so  monkish  that  I  even  read  through  mealtime,  Baring- 
Gould's  Lives  of  the  Saints.  I  hope  I  am  imbibing  some  of 
the  martyr  spirit.  I  was  much  struck  by  a  passage  where 
he  is  speaking  about  the  monks  in  Egypt,  and  the  effect 
they  had  in  advancing,  or  at  least  in  keeping  alive,  the 
spirit  of  Christianity.  Contrasting  it  with  the  spirit  of  the 
present  age,  its  unbelief,  scepticism,  Arianism  and  infidelity, 

65 


LIFE   OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

he  says,  '  Such  an  age  as  this  seems  one  meet  for  the  revival 
of  the  hermit  life  as  a  witness  for  the  truth  and  a  protest 
against  luxury.  This,  and  this  only,  as  far  as  we  can  judge, 
will  meet  the  great  want  of  the  day.  It  is  not  preaching  that 
will  recover  the  multitude  lapsed  into  religious  indifference ; 
it  must  be  the  example  of  men,  believing  with  such  fiery 
faith  that  they  sacrifice  everything  the  world  holds  precious 
for  the  sake  of  the  truth,  that  Jesus  Christ,  the  everlasting 
God,  came  into  the  flesh.' 

"  This  is  a  long  quotation  to  give  you,  but  it  almost  ex- 
actly expresses  my  feelings  on  the  subject.  The  more  I  see, 
the  more  absurd  it  seems  to  me  for  men  to  preach  what  they 
do  not  try  or  pretend  to  carry  out.  Take  any  of  our  clergy. 
In  what  are  their  lives  better  than  those  of  unbelievers?  What 
self-denial  are  they  willing  to  practise?  Absolutely  none  in 
reality,  although  perhaps  much  in  their  talk  and  sermons. 
As  to  the  hermit  part  I  would  alter  that  a  little.  An  exam- 
ple of  a  self-denying  priest  in  a  parish  would  undoubtedly 
have  an  immense  influence  for  good,  and  it  is  astonishing 
how  in  small  things  example  tells.  I  often  remember  an 
incident  in  Dr.  Dix's  former  life ;  the  warden  of  Bellevue 
Hospital,  a  plain  Roman  Catholic,  went  to  see  him  on  busi- 
ness, a  Friday,  at  dinner  time.  He  was  shown  into  the  din- 
ing-room and  was  at  once  impressed  with  the  frugality  of 
the  meal,  only  a  little  fish.  '  Why,  Dr.  Dix,'  he  said  after- 
wards, '  must  be  a  real  Catholic' 

"  Now,  in  reading  about  these  Saints — I  don't  mean  Dr. 
Dix,  but  to  return — one  is  struck  by  their  being  in  most  cases 
men  and  women  of  no  great  or  especial  talents;  and  I  find 
great  comfort  in  the  thought  that  no  one  is  too  small  or  in- 
significant to  be  able  to  witness  to  the  truth.  Some  day, 
may   God   grant   that   I   may,   however   feebly,   do   it;  but 

66 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

'l'union  c'est  la  force.'  Could  we  not  band  ourselves  to- 
gether, living  witnesses  to  a  worldly  generation,  that  the 
Christian  spirit  of  self-denial  and  renunciation  is  not  dead  ? 
At  least  we  could  try.  I  believe  that  I  have  a  decided  voca- 
tion, but  shall  take  no  steps  for  the  present;  only  try  and 
cultivate  the  spirit  as  much  as  possible.  Don't  think  the 
Fathers  have  been  influencing  me.  I  have  never  spoken  a 
word  to  them  on  the  subject.  I  fully  believe  it  is  the  call  of 
a  Higher  Power;  I  feel  it  in  all  I  do,  wherever  I  go;  nothing 
that  is  not  connected  with  the  higher  life  seems  to  have  any 
interest  for  me. 

"  I  went  to  the  Ordination  Day  at  the  Cathedral ;  there 
were  about  twenty  candidates — priests  and  deacons.  Dr. 
King  asked  me  to  lunch  with  him  to  meet  Bishop  Mac- 
karness  and  his  chaplains.  The  Bishop's  wife  was  there! 
She  is  very  pleasant.  Altogether  it  was  a  very  interesting 
lunch.  Dr.  Bright  was  very  lively  and  amusing.  My 
Doctor  charming  as  usual;  isn't  he  good  to  think  of  me 
when  he  believes  it  would  be  well  for  me  to  meet  people? 
The  Bishop  ordained  seated ;  it  is  much  more  dignified  than 
doing  it  in  a  bunch.  I  do  not  regret  at  all  my  decision  to 
stay  here,  for  I  am  very  happy.  I  have  just  finished  Bos- 
suet  and  his  contemporaries.  I  had  the  greatest  admiration 
for  him  at  the  outset,  but  I  must  say  I  was  exceedingly  dis- 
appointed in  him.  It  is  sad  to  read  of  his  end  and  his 
treatment  of  Fenelon.  Have  you  read  it?  He  had  great 
longings  for  reunion  and  would  have  bitterly  opposed  in- 
fallibility, etc.  .  .  .  With  best  wishes  for  the  New 
Year,  the  year  of  so  much  importance  to  us.  " 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry.'* 
67 


LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

"  31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 
"  St.  Stephen's  Day,  December  26,  1875. 
"  My  Dear  Francis  : 

"  .  .  .  You  ought  to  be  here  to  look  after  me,  for 
I  am  in  a  very  dangerous  state.  The  Cowley  Fathers  quite 
look  upon  me  as  one  of  themselves.  What  if  I  should  be? 
I  really  think  I  have  quite,  if  not  altogether,  a  vocation  for 
the  religious  life;  whether  as  developed  at  Cowley  or  not, 
remains  to  be  seen.  I  have  been  there  a  great  deal  lately, 
and  enjoy  keeping  the  canonical  hours.  I  don't  know  if  I 
had  better  keep  on  going  or  not,  but  I  shall  consult  Dr.  King 
as  soon  as  he  comes  back.  Perhaps  it  would  be  as  well  to  try 
myself  a  little.  There  is  no  intention  on  my  part  of  doing 
anything  rash,  so  don't  be  alarmed.  I  shouldn't  think  of 
joining  or  doing  anything  definite  before  I  am  thirty  years 
old.  The  Fathers  I  like  very  well.  I  took  tea  there  and 
went  to  Vespers  yesterday,  but  I  declined  dining,  as  I  should 
have  to  write  an  account  of  my  Christmas  dinner  to  my 
mother;  nor  have  I  mentioned  the  dangerous  proximity  to 
the  Mission  House,  it  would  worry  or  alarm  her  needlessly- 
I  passed  a  very  happy  Christmas,  though  I  missed  the  mid- 
night mass. 

"  I  went  to  High  Celebration  at  St.  Barnabas',  and  heard  a 
very  good  sermon  given  by  the  curate,  extempore,  but  very 
fluent  and  to  the  point.  I  much  prefer  him  to  the  vicar.  I 
had  dinner  solus;  then,  as  I  said  before,  had  Vespers  and 
tea  at  the  Fathers,  and  went  to  Evensong  at  their  church, 
where  Father  Benson  preached  an  excellent  sermon.  I 
could  scarcely  realize  it  was  Christmas  Day,  for  it  was  like 

08 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

Spring — a  mild,  pleasant  day — and  then  so  many  services 
and  so  well  attended.  The  evening  service  was  crowded.' 
Imagine  it  in  our  churches  on  Christmas!  Why,  everyone 
would  be  gorging  himself  at  dinner! 

"  I  went  this  afternoon  to  the  Sisters  with  Father  Pres- 
cott  and  read  the  lessons;  it  reminded  me  of  last  winter. 
The  Father  preached  a  little  sermon.  The  chapel  was  very 
prettily  decorated.  It  is  so  hard  to  believe  that  I  am  myself 
at  all,  everything  is  so  strange.  I  am  unnatural,  I  suppose, 
but  quite  happy  here;  of  course  I  should  like  to  be  at  home. 
And  now  if  I  thought  you  would  answer  any  questions,  I 
would  ask  you  what  you  think  of  my  case.  Would  you 
avoid  the  Fathers  until  the  danger  be  passed,  or  not  ?  Father 
Prescott  seemed  to  insinuate  to-night  that  it  was  a  matter- 
of-course  that  I  should  join  the  Society.  I  need  not  say  it 
is  nothing  of  the  kind;  in  fact,  I  have  no  desire  to  join  an 
English  Society.  I  think  it  would  be  much  better  to  be 
trained  in  the  United  States  if  one  is  to  be  trained.  My  old 
tormentor,  the  Irish-American  clergyman,  has  turned  up 
again,  but  I  have  not  had  much  to  say  to  him ;  besides  I 
am  much  more  settled  now  than  when  he  bothered  me  before- 
He  is  certainly  most  unfortunate — hasn't  a  cent  of  money 
and  nothing  to  do. 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry." 


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LIFE  OF   HENRY    VAN    RENSSELAER 

"  31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 

"January  12,  1876. 
"  My  Dear  Francis  : 

.It  was  delightful  to  hear  that  you  had  daily 
Celebration.     How  much  you  are  gaining !     .  How 

primitive  you  are  with  your  alb,  but  I  did  not  know  any- 
body but  the  celebrant  wore  the  amice.  I  must  tell  you  what 
I  did  on  Epiphany — went  with  Father  Maturin*  to  the 
nunnery  and  served  him  and  acted  as  thurifer.  I  was 
dreadfully  scared,  as  you  know  I  have  hardly  ever  served 
and  did  not  know  anything  about  the  use  of  incense,  at 
least  very  little.  I  have  seen  it  used  at  St.  Barnabas' 
twice,  but  not  expecting  to  be  thurifer  myself,  did  not  re- 
mark it  especially.  I  got  through  very  well,  however.  I 
swung  the  censer  all  through  the  Prayer  of  Consecration — 
I  suppose  you  would  call  it  the  Canon  of  the  Mass.  I  am 
exceedingly  fond  of  incense  and  think  it  most  beautiful  and 
appropriate.  I  can  scarcely  write  as  I  have  chilblains,  and 
my  hands  are  much  swollen,  but  I  hope  you  can  read  this. 
I  had  to  wear  the  most  absurdly  short  cotta  with  deep  lace. 
I  am  afraid  I  am  decidedly  elephantine  in  my  movements, 
but  console  myself  by  thinking  that  even  they  have  a  certain 
amount  of  grace — I  mean  dignity. 

"  This  week  the  Mission  is  in  full  force.  And  such  a 
Mission!  I  would  you  were  here  with  me.  It  began  on 
Saturday  by  a  service  at  the  Cathedral  which  was  crowded ; 
the  Bishop  addressed  the  missioners  in  an  episcopal  style, 

*  Father  Basil  William  Maturin,  one  time  a  Cowley  Father,  was  re- 
ceived into  the  Church  by  Father  Pope,  SJ,  at  Beaumont,  in  1897,  and 
was  ordained  by  Cardinal  Vaughan  in  1898. 

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LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

with  a  little  twaddle ;  still,  as  he  had  encouraged  and  invited 
them  to  come,  knowing  that  the  majority  would  assuredly 
do  everything  Catholicly,  one  easily  overlooked  any  expres- 
sion for  the  sake  of  the  deed,  and  after  all  he  really  said 
nothing  disagreeable. 

"  On  Sunday  I  went,  morning  and  evening,  to  St.  Barna- 
bas', where  Mr.  Randall  of  Clifton,  a  celebrity,  and  Mr. 
Coles,  were  the  priests.  Mr.  Randall  is  quite  an  old  man, 
over  sixty  I  should  say ;  he  is  the  preacher.  He  gave  a  rous- 
ing sermon  on  the  text,  '  Friend,  wherefore  art  thou  come  ?  ' 
and  it  was  very  thrilling.  In  the  evening  he  was  still  more 
impressive.  He  has  a  very  grave,  thin  face,  and  looks  as  if  he 
had  fasted  often ;  he  has  a  good  deal  of  gesture.  He  spoke 
most  openly  of  confession,  and  gave  an  instance  of  a  ladv 
being  saved  from  despair  by  a  priest,  which  priest,  at  the 
end,  he  declared  himself  to  be.  No  sooner  is  the  sermon 
over  than  Mr.  Coles  mounts  the  pulpit  to  instruct.  He  is  of 
an  entirely  different  style,  younger  and  stout ;  he  is  a  great 
friend  of  Dr.  King  and  has  imitated  him  in  his  ways.  I 
met  him  several  months  ago  at  the  Doctor's  house.  Well. 
Mr.  Randall  has  roused  the  people  tremendously;  then  Mr. 
Coles  proceeds  to  soothe  them  by  his  teaching;  he  is  very 
calm  and  gentle  and  simple.  He  explained  the  first  part  of 
the  Creed.  At  the  door  are  stationed  two  other  priests  who 
hand  everybody  a  tract  and  speak  to  those  who  they  think 
require  it. 

"  On  Monday,  Dr.  King  told  me  I  ought  to  hear  Walsham 
House,  who  was  to  preach,  so  I  obediently  went,  but  was 
not  much  edified,  for  it  was  at  St.  Mary  the  Virgin,  which 
is  high  and  dry  exceedingly.  It  was  not  in  the  least  like  a 
mission,  but  only  a  Prot.  parody.  The  sermon  in  itself  was 
excellent,  but  there  was  nothing  to  follow  it  up;  still  it  is  a 

71 


LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

good  sign  when  such  churches  are  willing  to  join  in  the 
movement  instead  of  protesting. 

Last  night  I  went  to  St.  Thomas  the  Martyr  (Catholic), 
where  a  Mr.  Ponsonby  and  the  dear  Dr.  King  are  mis- 
sioned. Oh,  such  a  crowd  of  such  people  I  never  saw 
before.  The  church  is  in  the  worst  part  of  Oxford,  near  the 
railroad  and  the  canal.  The  men  were  there  in  smock 
frocks,  with  torn  coats,  and  rags,  and  black  hands  and  faces. 
The  women  with  babies,  and  such  poor,  wretched  people ;  it 
did  one's  heart  good  to  see  them  in  such  a  place.  Mr.  P. 
preached  very  well,  really  eloquent  at  times,  and  very  lively, 
and  the  hymns,  oh,  the  Methodistical  tunes  they  sang ! 
After  the  sermon  Dr.  King  instructed  about  Confession. 
You  should  have  heard  him!  It  was  the  boldest,  most 
courageous  thing  in  him  to  do,  for,  just  think  of  his  posi- 
tion, and  in  Oxford,  too !  Confession  is  one  of  his  hobbies. 
He  was  grand !  He  proved  it  most  clearly  out  of  the  Bible 
and  prayer-book — their  prayer-book  is  much  better  than 
ours — and  the  people  were  most  attentive.  I  talked  with 
the  Doctor  after  the  service,  and  he  said  he  enjoyed  working 
among  such  people — think  of  it — he,  the  most  refined,  sensi- 
tive, gentle  nature.  It  was  delightful  to  hear  him  talk  in 
such  a  way.  You  should  have  seen  the  assistant  priests  in 
their  cassocks  and  birettas,  talking  to  the  people,  going  into 
the  streets  and  bringing  them  in. 

"  The  whole  city  is  given  up  to  the  mission.  All  the 
shops  are  closed  early  every  evening  to  give  the  people  a 
chance  to  attend.  We  in  the  United  States  could  never  have 
such  advantages,  and  then  the  clergy  here  can  speak  so 
much  more  authoritatively,  particularly  when  the  Bishop 
has  sanctioned  it.  They  are  undoubtedly  doing  a  grand 
work,  but  just  think  for  a  moment  of  such  a  thing  at  home! 

72 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

Where  would  the  priests  come  from?  These  missionaries 
are  all  secular,  but  they  are  very  spiritual  men  as  well  as 
pretty  thoroughly  grounded  in  doctrine,  though  there  is  a 
good  deal  of  machinery  to  work.  But  all  in  good  time. 
First  the  seed — but  how  about  the  seed  when  such  men  as 
you  say  that  we  can't  be  ordained  in  the  Church? 

"  Your  idea  of  a  Brotherhood  of  love  at  Hoboken  is  very 
engaging.  I  am  very  much  interested  in  the  Oratory  and 
have  been  reading  the  life  of  Henri  Perreyve,  who  revived 
the  Oratory  in  France.  He  is  a  most  lovely  character. 
Couldn't  we  do  something  of  the  kind  ?  The  Bishop  would 
never  allow  me  to  leave  New  York  at  present,  I  fear.  I  hope 
he  won't  be  disagreeable  to  me.  ...  I  had  a  letter 
from to-day  from  Pisa ;  he  is  on  his  way  home  to  res- 
cue me  from  the  Evangelist  Fathers,  as  my  letter  to  him 
alarmed  him  for  my  safety.  He  is  very  Protestant  since 
being  at  Rome — alas,  who  isn't  ?  It  is  a  pity  though  for  him, 
but  he  ought  to  have  the  sense  to  see  beauty  in  the  use  of 
what  is  detestable  when  abused. 

"  As  to  vows,  I  have  done  nothing  yet,  for  I  had  a  cor- 
respondence with  Mr.  Carter  of  Clewer,  but  found  it  im- 
possible to  arrive  at  any  conclusion  by  letters,  so  I  expect 
to  see  him.  They  all  say  he  is  very,  very  cautious,  and  ad- 
vises taking  vows  for  a  time  as  a  probation.  Be  careful, 
then ;  do  nothing  rash,  although  it  seems  absurd  for  us  who 
have  thought  of  it  so  much  and  so  long  to  talk  about  being 
rash  and  doing  things  in  a  hurry.  Still,  you  are  so  young, 
but  guard  your  name  as  much  as  possible  from  gossip.  One 
can't  be  too  careful ;  it  is  so  horrid  for  those  devoted  to  the 
Lord  to  be  talked  about. 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry." 
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LIFE   OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

"31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 

"  January  23,  1876. 
"  My  Dear  Francis  : 

"  .  .  .1  don't  remember  exactly  where  I  left  off 
in  my  account  of  the  mission.  Did  I  speak  of  St.  Frides- 
wide?  Well,  it  was  too  ultra  to  suit  me.  They  were  so 
very  Catholic  that  they  forgot  their  dignity  and  became 
mere  Methodist  ranters.  The  sermon  was  not  so  bad,  but 
the  instruction  which  took  up  the  same  subject  was  terrible 
to  me.  It  was  on  the  Crucifixion.  The  missioner  imagined 
and  invented  all  kinds  of  horrible  jests  and  sarcasms  said 
by  the  Roman  soldiery,  and  drew  the  most  revolting  picture 
of  Our  Lord's  appearance.  It  was  sickening.  I  disliked 
the  man's  looks,  too ;  he  had  long  red  hair  and  beard 
and  wore  a  cassock  with  a  short  cape  and  silver  cross  in 
front.  Now  you  know,  I  like  a  cassock  and  certainly  a 
cross,  but  then  there  are  different  ways  of  wearing  them. 
After  the  instruction  the  missioners  went  up  and  down  the 
aisle  making  extempore  prayers  and  ejaculations,  in  which 
Our  Lord's  name  was,  to  my  mind,  most  irreverently  used, 
without  any  qualifying  epithet.  It  struck  me  as  being  very 
forced.  To  cap  the  climax,  the  Irishman,  my  constant  at- 
tendant, whose  clerical  clothes  were  concealed  by  his  over- 
coat, was  attacked  by  one  of  the  priests,  and  inquiries  made 
as  to  the  state  of  his  soul,  and  whether  he  received  the  mes- 
sage, but  he  didn't  disclose  his  clerical  character.  I  was  ut- 
terly disgusted.  It  only  shows  that  the  step  between  the 
sublime  and  the  ridiculous  must  be  carefully  attended  to. 

"  It  was  very  much  the  same  thing  at  SS.  Philip  and 

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LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

James',  only  everything  was  done  in  the  most  dignified  way 
possible.  The  Canon,  who  is  Principal  of  Cuddleston,  was 
the  missioner.  He  is  an  excellent  preacher  and  drew  well. 
The  church  is  free,  and  the  congregation  would  correspond 
to  Trinity  Chapel,  with  a  sprinkling  of  poor  people.  He 
preached  a  fine  sermon  on  religious  presumption,  which  im- 
pressed me  very  strongly.  He  handled  Confession  most 
ably,  introducing  the  subject  in  the  most  plausible  way. 
Perhaps  he  left  too  much  of  a  loop-hole  for  people  to  escape. 

"  Last  Sunday  afternoon  there  was  an  address  for  men, 
and  the  church,  a  large  one,  was  well  filled.  The  address  was 
excellent,  proving  that  religion  was  not  in  the  least  antago- 
nistic to  everyday  life.  He  has  a  very  manly  and  honest 
way  of  putting  things  that  is  very  effective.  In  the  evening, 
after  the  sermon,  the  assistant  missioner  made  a  few  re- 
marks and  then  read  about  self-examination  on  the 
Commandments,  the  idea  being  that  a  man's  sins  would  be 
brought  prominently  forward,  and  he  would  be  led  to  see  the 
need  of  confession;  the  Canon  meanwhile  going  about 
among  the  kneeling  congregation  and  speaking  as  he  saw 
fit.  It  was  really  the  same  thing  as  at  St.  Frideswide's, 
but  the  difference  in  the  manner  of  doing  things  was  very 
marked.  I  ought  to  say  that  I  hear  that  the  mission  at 
St.  Frideswide's  has  been  successful,  though  it  was  a  com- 
moner congregation  to  be  sure. 

"  There  was  a  Mr.  Boddington  at  St.  Cross  who  was  really 
splendid ;  he  gave  excellent  addresses  to  men  and  had  a 
wonderful  flow  of  language.  I  heard  him  on  non-communi- 
cating attendance.     It  was  capital. 

"  At  St.  Barnabas'  the  mission  has  been  so  successful 
that  they  have  kept  it  up  all  the  week  to  follow  up  the  im- 
pression they  had  made.     Certainly  Mr.  Randall  is  the  most 

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LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN    RENSSELAER 

striking  speaker  I  ever  listened  to.  Last  Sunday  the  sermon 
on  Hell  was  terrific,  and  yet  not  at  all  sensational,  but  only 
fearfully  real  and  earnest.  He  has  a  great  power  in  telling 
incidents,  is  very  dramatic,  without  being  stagey,  is  old  and 
venerable  looking,  and  his  voice  thrills  you  through  and 
through.  I  would  sit  there  trembling.  It  has  made  a  won- 
derful impression  on  me.  The  very  fact  ot  seeing  so  many 
men  at  such  a  glorious  work  inspires  me.  What  a  wondrous 
power  has  been  given  to  the  priests  here  through  retreats! 
"  I  have  been  reading  some  of  Newman's  University 
sermons  with  great  pleasure.  What  a  splendid  one  that  is 
on  Responsibility.  I  have  been  very  much  interested  in  the 
life  of  Abbe  Henri  Perreyve,  the  favorite  of  Lacordaire, 
and  a  lovely  character,  a  man  of  great  ability,  who  came 
to  an  early  grave  through  an  utter  disregard  of  his  life. 
I  am  learning  a  lesson  of  the  proper  use  of  one's  strength 
'  ad  majorem  Dei  gloriam.'  Pere  Gratry,  who  writes  the 
book,  speaks  very  plainly  about  the  way  Perreyve,  who  was 
the  apple  of  his  eye,  overdid  things,  thus  depriving  the 
Church  of  a  wondrous  power.  He  was  especially  great  with 
children. 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry." 


"31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 

"  January  30,  1876. 


"  My  Dear  Francis  : 


"  .      .      .      Speaking  about  Confession,  I  am  convinced 
that  multitudes  of  young  men  would  be  saved  had  they  such 

76 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

a  safeguard.  .  .  .  Last  Sunday  night  the  mission  at 
St.  Barnabas'  ended.  The  church  was  thronged,  the  service 
grand,  and  they  sang  High  Even-song.  Do  you  know  what 
that  is  ?  Perhaps  not,  so  I  will  tell  you.  The  priest  wears  a 
cope  and  biretta  and  says  the  service  in  the  Sanctuary  at 
one  side  of  the  altar,  and  incenses  it.  Mr.  Randall  preached 
a  very  fine  sermon  on  St.  Mary  Magdalen.  He  is  certainly 
a  most  striking  preacher,  and  by  no  means  minces  mat- 
ters. It  was  very  good  for  the  undergrads  to  hear.  At 
the  end  of  the  service  they  sang  Te  Deum  for  the  successful 
mission.  It  was  grand.  Mr.  Noel  was  at  the  altar  in  his 
cope,  a  very  handsome  embroidered  white  one.  The  censer 
was  kept  swinging  and  the  processional  Cross  was 
held  facing  the  altar,  with  acolytes  bearing  candles  on  each 
side,  and  others  carrying  large  handsome  banners,  with 
faces  towards  the  altar.  The  Te  Deum  was  plain-song,  and 
all  the  large  congregation  joined  in  most  heartily.  The 
effect  was  splendid.  At  the  conclusion  the  procession 
marched  round  the  church,  singing  '  Crown  Him  with  many 
Crowns.' 

"  On  Monday  I  dined  at  Dr.  King's  to  meet  Mr.  Randall 
and  Mr.  Coles,  the  two  missioners.  I  had  a  charming  time. 
They  told  many  interesting  anecdotes  and  reminiscences 
about  Manning  and  Newman  and  Wilberforce.  Mr.  Ran- 
dall is  very  entertaining  indeed,  and  so  is  Mr.  Coles.  He 
very  kindly  asked  me  to  come  and  stay  with  him  and  see  a 
country  parish.  Very  likely  I  shall  go  after  Easter, 
D.  V.     .     .     . 

"  College  men  here  do  not  mix  even  among  themselves 
without  a  formal  introduction.  You  see  them  sitting  day  by 
day  in  the  lecture  rooms  and  never  speaking  or  making  each 
other's  acquaintance.     You  are  on  no  account  to  imagine 

77 


LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

that  I  have  not  had  a  delightful  and  exceedingly  profitable 
time  at  Oxford.  I  have  kept  pretty  steadily  at  work,  tried 
to  cultivate  the  inner  life,  and  have  not  cared  much  for 
external  things  at  all.  The  friends  I  have  made  I  have  not 
followed  up,  simply  because  I  did  not  care  to  waste  time  or 
distract  myself.  Undoubtedly  I  could  have  made  many  more 
had  I  cared  to.  I  was  very  much  pleased,  on  going  to  Canon 
Liddon's,  to  find  that  he  remembered  me  perfectly  and 
asked  if  I  had  gone  to  the  East  as  I  had  planned.  It  was 
quite  a  thing  to  be  remembered  by  one  who  sees  so  many. 
He  made  some  very  kind  remarks  about  seeing  me 
often. 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry." 


"31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 

"  February  6,  1876. 


My  Dear  Francis 


"  .  .  .  I  have  received  a  most  charming  letter  from 
my  Bishop  in  answer  to  mine.  He  wrote  the  day  after  re- 
ceiving '  my  welcome  note,'  expressing  his  pleasure  at  all  the 
kindnesses  I  was  being  shown.  He  particularly  commends 
me  '  to  his  dear  and  honored  friend,  Dr.  Pusey.'  He  en- 
closes me  his  blessing  and  calls  me  '  his  dear  friend/  and 
concludes  '  most  affectionately.'  He  likewise  sends  me  the 
most  flattering  commendatory  letter,  which  could  never 
possibly  be  shown  to  any  one.     He  says,  moreover,  he  had 

78 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

intended  to  give  it  to  me  before  I  left,  but  had  not  the  oppor- 
tunity, and  somehow  his  delicacy  prevented  his  sending  it 
through  my  mother.  Imagine  my  feelings  on  hearing  of 
such  magnanimity.  I  was  quite  overcome,  I  assure  you. 
I  have  had  many  prickings  of  conscience  on  the  subject  of 
my  behavior  to  him.  I  really  did  not  deserve  much  kindness 
or  politeness  at  his  hands,  for  however  he  treated  me,  that 
was  no  excuse  for  me.  It  has  taken  a  great  load  off  my 
mind.  All  things  work  together  for  good;  it  must  come 
out  right;  I  have  great  faith.  Is  it  not  wonderful  how 
everything  seems  to  be  coming  about  just  as  I  have  longed 
for  but  scarcely  dared  to  hope  ?      .      .      . 

"  To  go  to  Cowley  would  ruin  my  life,  although  I  have, 
I  am  sure,  the  most  distinct  call  to  the  religious  life,  but 
not  exactly  in  that  place.  You  are  perfectly  right  about 
doing  what  we  are  best  fitted  for — certainly  mission  preach- 
ing would  not  be  my  forte.  What  I  long  to  do  is  some  quiet, 
unobtrusive  work,  much  prayer,  intercession,  meditation, 
with  especial  attention  to  be  given  to  men  and  the  poor* 
I  am  reading  '  L'Oratoire  ' ;  if  you  read  French  well  enough 
to  care  for  it,  I  will  gladly  send  you  a  copy.  I  quote  a 
little  paragraph :  '  Tel  est  done  Tesprit  de  l'Oratoire :  pour 
but,  la  perfection  du  sacerdoce ;  pour  principe  et  pour  mo\cn 
la  charite;  rien  par  vceu,  tout  par  amour,  rien  de  profane 
et  de  seculier,  tout  par  rapport  a  Jesus  Christ,  a  Teglise 
et  au  sacerdoce.''  I  think  that  probably  the  '  Priestly  Life  ' 
is  in  great  part  taken  from  this  book,  which  gives  an 
account  of  the  Oratory  of  S.  Philip  Neri,  de  Berulle  and 
the  one  of  the  present  century  in  France,  under  Henri  de 


*  A  remarkable  foreshadowing  of  his  future  work  as  a  Jesuit  priest. 

79 


LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

Perreyve.  How  glorious  is  the  idea !  What  if  we  could  do 
some  little  work  for  Him  in  this  way!  His  strength  is 
made  perfect  in  weakness;  let  us  try  and  begin  now  by 
making  it  a  perpetual  subject  of  prayer,  and  that  He  will 
raise  up  some  one  who  will  be  the  Superior  General.  I 
dared  not  mention  what  was  occupying  so  much  of  my 
thought  to  Dr.  King,  for  fear  I  might  seem  presumptuous. 
To  my  great  joy  he  told  me  a  plan  he  had  for  something 
of  the  same  kind.  He  had  bought  a  house  which  will  hold 
about  twelve  men  to  be  a  sort  of  training  school  for 
missionaries.  Mr.  Moberly,  the  Bishop's  son,  is  to  be  the 
head;  Dr.  King,  I  suppose,  the  director.  Well,  the  dear 
man  asked  me  to  stay  another  year.  Now  you  will  think 
me  crazy,  but  I  am  going  to  decline;  perhaps  he  would 
not  really  want  me;  at  any  rate,  he  suggested  it,  i.  e.,  said 
he  did  want  me,  so  then  I  told  him  about  my  aspirations, 
and  he  said  he  thought  them  not  at  all  presumptuous  and  not 
by  any  means  impracticable.  I  have  not  had  a  chance  to  say 
much  more  to  him  on  the  subject.  Wouldn't  it  be  a  good 
plan,  if  you  agree  to  it,  to  get  him  to  help  us  to  draw  up  a 
few  simple  rules  to  start  with?  He  has  a  great  deal  of 
judgment  and  is  good — so  true  and  sympathetic.  The 
reason  why  I  cannot  stay  is  that  I  cannot  put  off  the  priest- 
hood for  a  moment.  The  sooner  one  of  us  can  offer  up  the 
all-prevailing  sacrifice  the  sooner  must  our  plans  begin  to 
be  realized.  So  don't,  I  beg  you,  write  asking  me  to  stay. 
I  no  longer  think  of  Avenue  C  except,  perhaps,  as  the  be- 
ginning of  my  career;  it  is  no  longer  the  centre  of  my 
priestly  life.  How  wonderful  it  all  seems !  too  good  almost 
to  be  possible.  Let  the  Society  of  the  Holy  Cross  (do  you 
like  the  name?)  be  the  subject  of  our  intention  especially 
once  a  week,  Monday,  when  I  go  to  the  Sisters'  chapel; 

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LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

and  when  Dr.  King  celebrates,  I  will  ask  him  to  remember 
it.  Have  you  still  Daily  Celebration?  Have  I  led  you  to 
suppose  that  I  have  broken  in  any  way  with  the  Fathers? 
I  have  not,  and  hope  to  go  to  the  house  in  Lent  for  Lauds. 
Father  Benson  gave  us  an  excellent  sermon  this  morning  on 
the  Gospel.  He  is  decidedly  above  the  congregation,  though 
all  his  teaching  seems  to  lead  towards  perfection.  The 
lectures  are  all  going  on  now.  I  enjoy  Liddon's  more  this 
term  than  last.  I  am  reading,  with  great  pleasure,  his 
Bamptons.  Haven't  I  made  an  advance?  I  can  hear  him 
in  fancy  speaking  each  word,  and  I  can  bring  before  me 
every  tone  of  his  voice  and  look,  and  it  adds  wonderful 
interest  to  the  reading. 

"  Dr.  Bright  is  interesting  in  his  treatment  of  the  Ignatian 
Epistles.  Dr.  King  is  glorious  on  the  Ordinal.  This 
set  of  his  lectures  does  not  belong  to  the  school,  and  is 
quite  voluntary,  yet  not  only  his  room  is  crowded,  but  the 
adjoining  one  likewise.  He  has  been  treating  the  separa- 
tion of  the  Levite  and  Aaronic  priesthood,  the  use  of  media, 
and  that  not  any  and  everybody  may  be  a  priest,  but 
that  there  is  need  of  a  distinct  call.  He  is  splendid.  His 
meditations  have  begun,  his  little  chapel  filled  to  overflow- 
ing, and  men  standing  all  through.  Last  Friday  his  lec- 
ture was  on  self-examination,  and  very  excellent  it  was. 
He  discussed  the  different  ways  of  meditating;  the  purga- 
tive, the  illuminative,  and  the  unitive,  and  then,  after  dilat- 
ing to  some  extent  upon  each  of  them,  said,  '  No  doubt  some 
of  you  will  think  it  is  mere  medisevalism,'  and  then  he  spoke 
about  St.  Clement  of  Alexandria's  works,  and  especially 
the  Paidagogos  who  is  Christ,  showing  that  St.  Clement 
taught  in  that  early  age  on  exactly  the  same  plan  as  the  later 
saints.     He  then  analyzed  Wesley's  rules  of  self-examina- 

Sl 


LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

tion,  thus  combining  to  suit  and  not  to  offend  any  class  of 
thinkers.  He  is  wonderfully  happy  in  his  handling  of  such 
subjects. 

"  I   have   just  come   in   from  service  at  the   Evangelist 
Fathers'  Church.   Father  Benson  preached  on  '  Oh,  taste  and 
see.'     You  can  imagine  it  was  a  pretty  high  sermon,  much 
too  high  for  the  understanding  of  the  people,  I  fear.     I  en- 
joyed it  very  much,  although  it  was  rather  long.     You  ask 
about  the  chanting;  it  is  hard  to  say  whether  it  is  fast  or 
slow ;  rather  fast,  I  should  say,  pausing  slightly  at  the  com- 
mas, and  not  dwelling  much  on  any  one  note.     The  accom- 
paniment at  St.  Barnabas'  is  very  brilliant;  the  organ  is  a 
fine  one,  the  boys  singing  alternate  verses.     The  congrega- 
tion there  is  divided,  men  on  uie  right  side  and  women  on 
the  left.     The  women  sing  with  the  boys.     In  high  services 
and  on  Sundays  cadences  are  introduced  in  the  intoning  of 
the  prayers.     I  don't  think  honestly  that  the  English  sing- 
ing is  any  better  or  differs  materially  from  ours ;  perhaps 
some  of  the  boys'  voices  may  be  sweeter. 

"I  agree  with  you  entirely  about  the  Mary  banner;  let 
the  first  banner,  at  least,  be  in  honor  of  Our  Lord,  the 
Lamb,  for  instance,  or  the  Good  Shepherd,  or  Our  Lord 
blessing  little  children,  etc. 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry." 


"31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 

"  February  13,  1876. 
"  My  Dear  Francis  : 

"...     Father  Prescott  has  imbued  me  with  the  idea 
of  extreme  caution  in  regard  to  the  enthusiasm  which  we 

82 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

young-blooded  fellows  feel.  Without  experience  we  are  apt 
to  sneer  at  his  advice  as  conservatism.  Surely,  when  we  are 
playing  for  such  high  stakes  we  cannot  be  too  careful.  At 
least  the  great  guns  of  Oxford  impress  me  so. 

"  I  hope  to  get  back  about  the  21st  of  June,  as  I  have 
engaged  my  passage  on  the  Bothnia,  which  sails  on  the  10th. 
Secessions  to  Rome  seem  to  be  the  order  of  the  day.  Mr. 
Hutton,  a  former  curate  of  St.  Barnabas',  and  a  first  class 
honor  man,  who  composed  a  defence  of  Anglican  Orders 
and  was  one  of  the  Catholic  party,  has  just  been  received  by 
John  Henry  Newman  at  the  Oratory.  He  went  to  see  Dr. 
King,  and  the  Doctor  says  he  had  absolutely  no  reason  to 
give  for  his  perversion  except  that  there  is  no  room  '  for 
childlike  faith  in  the  English  Church.'  Certainly  one  would 
require  a  vast  amount  of  that  article  unadulterated  to  turn 
Roman  nowadays.  Isn't  it  sickening  to  see  the  work  of 
years  and  noble  lives  almost  neutralized  by  such  absurd 
monomania  ?  But  certainly  everything  preaches  a  lesson  of 
caution  to  us  to  give  people  a  thorough  grounding  in  good, 
true,  sound  doctrine,  before  they  are  carried  away  by  their 
feelings.  But  how  can  one  account  for  first  class  men  be- 
having in  such  a  way? 

"  I  went  to  a  delightful  dinner  at  Dr.  King's  on  Thurs- 
day to  meet  Burgon,  the  new  Dean  of  Chichester.  It  was 
quite  a  large  affair, — fourteen  of  us.  I  was  the  only  man 
under  forty-five.  I  considered  it  quite  a  compliment.  Half 
the  party  were  ladies.  The  Dean  was  the  most  amusing 
company,  full  of  anecdotes,  some  quite  stale;  a  most  lacka- 
daisical looking  person  and  with  such  a  comical  way  of  tell- 
ing things  that  one  laughed  whenever  one  looked  at  him. 
Among  the  guests  was  Archdeacon  Pott.  He  was  very  jolly 
and  told  very  amusing  things  about  Wilberf orce ;  he  looked 

83 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

so  amusing  in  knee-breeches  and  apron ;  he  reminded  me 
strongly  of  Dr.  Seymour.  Imagine  him  in  that  dress!  An- 
other guest  was  a  Rev.  George  Williams,  very  learned  in 
Eastern  Church  concerns,  who  has  travelled  a  great  deal, 
and  who  gave  us  an  interesting  account  of  the  steps  the  Ori- 
entals are  making  towards  unity.  There  is  also  a  Brother- 
hood at  Athens,  lay,  I  believe,  for  the  improving  of  the 
education  of  the  clergy.  Professor  Damalas,  one  of  the 
Bonn  men,  is  one  of  the  leaders.  We  need  something  of  the 
kind — our  Oratory  under  another  name.  We  heard  of  Dr. 
Eigenbrodt's  dog-in-the-manger  treatment  of  the  St.  Chrys- 
ostom  Society.     How  contemptible  it  does  seem ! 

"  The  weather  is  horrid;  I  never  suffered  so  much  from 
cold  in  my  life;  not  that  it  is  so  cold,  but  such  penetrating 
damp.  My  hands  have  been  perfect  sights  from  chilblains — 
all  swollen  and  red  mottled — and  as  for  my  feet,  they  are  in 
a  constant  state  of  numbness.  I  shall  certainly  be  glad  when 
Spring  comes. 

"  We  went  to  a  breakfast  at  Exeter  College  yesterday. 
Segur  was  our  host ;  he  is  one  of  the  best  men  I  have  ever 
met.  We  were  a  party  of  eight  and  had  a  very  jolly  time. 
We  were  told  some  very  amusing  college  stories,  and  were 
greatly  entertained.  An  Oxford  breakfast  is  quite  an  im- 
posing affair. 

"  Dr.  King  gave  us  a  beautiful  instruction  on  Pride.  He 
is  certainly  a  most  charming  man.  He  makes  great  use  of 
Dante,  rolling  off  the  Italian  very  sweetly.  I  think  he  man- 
aged to  convict  us  all  of  pride,  in  some  of  its  shapes.  He 
describes  most  graphically,  and  is  particularly  good  about 
castle  building,  in  which  one  is  sure  to  be  the  lord  of  the 
castle  oneself.  '  Full,'  gives  you  no  idea  what  the  little  chapel 
is ;  men  willing  to  stand,  too,  and  such  men,  not  the  scrubs 

84 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

one  is  apt  to  consider  as  the  only  Theologs,  but  fine-looking, 
manly,  high-bred  fellows.  I  find  myself  questioning  whether 
it  can  be  possible  that  they  are  really  candidates,  and  yet 
the  fact  of  their  coming  to  extra  lectures  and  meditations 
proves  that  they  are  not  going  into  Holy  Orders  as  a  matter 
of  business.  What  a  contrast  Dr.  King  is  to  our  Profes- 
sors! He  gave  us  notice  yesterday  that  to  anyone  who  ex- 
pected to  be  ordained  at  the  Lent  ordination,  and  had  not 
heard  his  '  Parochialia,'  he  would  be  happy  to  give  them 
privately.  Wasn't  that  good  in  him  ?  What  a  thing  love  is ! 
How  many  people  would  take  such  extra  trouble  for  any  set 
of  young  men?  I  asked  the  dear  soul  to  make  a  special 
memento  of  us  and  our  plan  on  Monday  mornings  at  Cele- 
bration ;  he  seemed  very  pleased  with  the  idea.  A  good  talk 
with  him  on  Monday  sets  me  up  for  the  rest  of  the  week. 
I  don't  know  what  I  should  do  without  the  daily  Celebra- 
tion. .  .  .  Our  friend  B.  has  decided  to  pass  the  sum- 
mer in  Hanover  or  elsewhere  in  Germany.  I  wouldn't 
think  of  doing  such  a  thing,  for  I  consider  it  absolutely 
dangerous  for  one's  spiritual  life  to  live  in  a  country  where 
religion  is  a  mere  nonentity — no  services  but  once  a  week, 
and  those  dreadful,  and  to  live  in  an  atmosphere  of  utter 
worldliness  and  pleasure-seeking.  Decidedly  Germany  has 
no  charm  for  me  which  could  outweigh  the  evils.  I  am 
sorry  to  say  that  I  have  forgotten  all  the  German  I  knew. 
Last  summer  seems  like  a  blank.  I  might  have  learned  so 
very  much  more  than  I  did,  but  I  suppose  there  is  no  use 
crying  over  spilt  milk. 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry." 
85 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Letters  From  Oxford  (Continued) 

"  31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 

"  February  20,  187G. 
*'  My  Dear  Francis  : 

"  .  .  .  This  morning  Dr.  Pusey  preached  before 
the  University.  St.  Mary's  was  crowded.  The  Under- 
grads'  gallery  was  packed,  and  many  were  standing  in  the 
aisles.  I  went  early  and  got  a  good  seat.  Shall  I  tell  you 
how?  I  was  very  bold.  I  was  modestly  waiting  near  a 
locked  pew ;  a  beauteous  damsel  was  waiting  likewise,  amid 
a  throng  of  others.  The  pew-opener's  heart  warmed  to  so 
much  beauty,  and  the  door  was  opened.  I  followed  close  to 
the  beauteous  damsel  and  was  locked  in  the  pew  with  her — 
was  not  that  a  successful  dodge?  The  dear  Doctor  ap- 
peared in  his  red  gown,  which,  although  innocent  of  ritualis- 
tic tendencies,  would  have  scared  our  respective  mothers  not 
a  little.  The  text  was :  '  As  my  Father  has  sent  Me,  even 
so  send  I  you.'  The  sermon  opened  with  a  description  of 
the  'Zeitgeist,'  intellectual  pride;  unwillingness  to  accept 
revealed  truth  which  reason  could  not  understand.  He 
then  proceeded  to  consider  several  schemes  of  philosophy, 
but  was  seized  with  a  violent  attack  of  coughing,  which 
.threatened  to  put  an  end  to  the  sermon.    However,  the  brave 

86 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

old  soul  is  not  one  to  give  in ;  he  struggled  on  and  proved 
victorious.  It  was  very  painful,  though,  at  times.  Next 
he  spoke  of  media  in  natural  life,  and  then  by  analogy 
in  our  spiritual  life,  touching  on  the  two  great  Sacraments 
and  concluding  with  a  splendid  appeal  to  the  Undergradu- 
ates on  the  Sacrament  of  Confession.  He  was  wonder- 
fully interesting.  Just  to  look  at  him  fascinated  me.  He 
filled  me  with  a  feeling  of  sadness — I  know  not  why — 
there  is  something  so  pathetic  about  him.  I  must  get  Dr. 
King  to  introduce  me  to  him  as  I  am  very  anxious  for  his 
blessing. 

"  The  precentor  of  Christ  Church  Cathedral,  a  fellow, 
offered  to  teach  intoning  to  any  of  Dr.  King's  students,  for 
love,  of  course.  The  Doctor  very  kindly  asked  him  to  take 
me.  I  supposed  it  would  be  a  class,  but  to  my  surprise  he 
gives  us  each  a  separate  half-hour  a  week.  He  is  a  Catho- 
lic, a  priest,  and  sings  on  great  occasions  at  St.  Barnabas'. 
I  remembered  hearing  him  there;  he  sings  splendidly.  He 
is  very  kind  indeed  and  says,  when  I  have  practised  a  little, 
he  will  take  me  into  the  Cathedral  to  see  how  I  can  get  on 
in  a  large  church.  Of  course  the  Cathedral  will  be  empty. 
He  makes  me  take  G.  I  think  perhaps  it  is  too  high  for  me, 
but  he  says  not.  I  have  been  practising  breathing  and  since 
I  have  been  in  Oxford  my  chest  has  expanded  an  inch.  I 
am  very  careful  to  articulate  distinctly,  and  find  that  my 
practice  stands  me  in  good  stead  for  my  intoning. 

"  Dr.  King's  Friday  evening  conferences  are  literally 
thronged;  the  room  is  altogether  too  small,  but  the  men 
don't  seem  to  mind  standing.  He  was  on  '  Envy '  last  time, 
and  spoke  about  the  great  danger  of  it  for  fellow  curates. 

"  I  consulted  Dr.  King  about  the  Canon.  He  quite  con- 
soled me  and  thought  it  would  not  be  dishonest.     I  should 

S7 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

have  no  scruple  about  telling  the  examiners  if  they  see  fit  to 
ask  me.  I  mean  to  have  a  walk  and  a  talk  with  Dr.  Liddon, 
and  perhaps  what  he  says  may  have  more  influence  with  you. 

"  I  enjoy  Dr.  Liddon  extremely  this  term.  As  for  his 
Bampton  lectures  I  am  enraptured  with  them.  I  am  getting 
quite  a  clear  view  of  the  Incarnation  and  the  Trinity. 
I  don't  get  on  very  quickly,  though,  with  Bamptons,  for 
there  is  so*  much  matter  in  them  for  meditation  that  I  read 
and  re-read.  What  a  beautiful  style  and  what  a  devotional 
spirit  pervades  them! 

"  Dr.  Bright  is  lecturing  on  the  Gnostic  heresies,  which 
fit  in  very  nicely ;  he  makes  them  really  very  interesting.  Do 
you  remember  all  that  bosh  we  learned  the  first  year  ?  Dr. 
Bright  really  brings  the  heretics  and  their  views  before 
you,  and  he  is  withal  very  fair  to  them,  showing  their  points 
of  contact  with  the  Catholic  faith,  and  how  they  arose. 
You  can  realize  that  the  heresiarchs  were  men,  and  not 
fiends,  as  they  are  usually  represented. 

"  I  wish  you  were  here  that  we  might  plan  together, 
but  one  thing  we  can  do,  and  that  is,  pray.  It  is  a  very 
serious  thing — prayer — one  must  be  very  particular  and 
regular;  regularity  and  order  are  very  excellent  safeguards. 
Make  a  rule  and  stick  to  it  as  closely  as  possible.  I  find  it 
the  only  way  for  me.  You  may  think  me  a  mere  creature 
of  habit!  Amen,  say  I,  provided  the  habit  is  good. 
Do  you  try  to  meditate,  or  have  you  given  up  in  despair? 
Surely  not.  Don't  trammel  yourself  with  too  many  rules  in 
meditation. 

"  How  near  Lent  is ;  I  rather  dread  it  for  some  reasons. 
Do  you  ever  speak  about  our  plan  or  do  you  keep  a  religious 
secrecy?  At  all  events  we  must  have  Associates.  Do  you 
make  our  Brotherhood  a  definite  subject  of  prayer?     I  do 

88 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

every  day,  at  Celebration,  to  say  nothing  of  other  times. 
I  am  still  reading  '  L'Oratoire  '  at  odd  times.  In  it  is  the  life 
of  the  Pere  de  Condren,  one  of  the  Superior  Generals  of  the 
Order.  It  relates  that  Pere  de  Berulle  had  his  eye  upon  him 
long  before  de  Coudren  thought  of  joining,  and  the  Ora- 
tory offered  up  prayers  that  God  would  put  it  into  his  heart 
to  join,  which  in  due  time  came  to  pass.  Now,  why  can't 
we  do  the  same  for  those  whom  we  think  would  be  fit  helpers 
in  our  work? 

11 1  have  just  come  in  from  a  sermon  of  Father  Benson — 
very  excellent — on  the  faults  of  omission,  but  he  is  certainly 
too  long;  three-quarters  of  an  hour  in  the  evening  is  too 
much,  and  then  there  is  so  much  in  his  sermons ;  it  would 
be  better  to  divide  them  up  into  three,  fifteen  minutes 
each.  I  am  positive  they  would  have  twice  the  effect.  Let 
us  make  it  a  rule  in  the  Brotherhood  that  no  sermon  shall 
exceed  fifteen  minutes.  They  sang  one  of  my  favorite 
hymns,  '  Hark,  Hark,  My  Soul.'  What  a  power  music  is! 
Shall  I  bring  out  a  selection  of  church  music  for  '  our  choir?  ' 
If  so,  what?  How  about  'our'  Library?  That  is  a  very 
important  thing;  we  can't  get  on  without  books. 
"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry." 


"  31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 
Quinquagesima,  February  27,  1876. 

"  My  Dear  Francis  : 

"  .      .      .      Our  lectures  are  very  interesting  now,  and  I 
enjoy  Liddon  very  much  more  this  term  than  I  did  the  last 

89 


LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

The  Oxford  men  all  have  a  certain  mannerism  to  which  one 
must  get  accustomed.  I  can  see  you  smile  incredulously  at 
the  suggestion  of  any  imperfection  in  Liddon,  I  do  not 
think  his  mannerisms  altogether  objectionable,  for  it  is  a 
great  comfort  to  feel  that  such  men  have  their  little  failings. 
Liddon  invariably  says  jest  instead  of  just,  and  in  lec- 
turing he  stutters  and  repeats  the  same  thing  over  and  over 
again,  apparently  waiting  for  a  happy  expression  to  follow 
out  the  thought.  Of  course,  his  sermons  being  written,  there 
is  no  such  defect.  Dr.  King,  too,  stutters  in  exactly  the 
same  way.  It  is  very  pleasing  withal.  Apparently  all  En- 
glishmen have  it  more  or  less.  But  don't  think  that  I  am 
depreciating  them,  far  from  it,  only  it  is  '  jest '  as  well  for 
you  not  to  idealize  too  tremendously. 

"  I  haven't  had  my  promised  walk  with  Liddon  yet ; 
the  weather  has  been  disagreeable,  the  walking  wretched. 
I  know  by  experience  he  is  far  above  caring  about  either, 
and  so  am  waiting  for  a  good  day. 

"  Dr.  King  is  giving  us  good  lectures  on  the  Apostolic 
Succession,  Archbishop  Parker's  consecration,  etc. ;  the  Ro- 
man Catholics'  objections  and  how  to  refute  them,  especially 
from  their  own  writers.  It  is  certainly  most  scholarly  and 
impressive  to  quote  by  reading  from  the  books  quoted  in  the 
original  language.  Had  Woodman*  been  thoroughly 
grounded,  he  couldn't  have  the  impudence  to  say  that  he 
could  not  look  upon  us  as  anything  but  laymen.  That 
Nag's  Head  story  is  the  most  palpably  absurd  thing  ever  in- 
vented. It  is  astonishing  how  Roman  Catholic  scholars,  up 
to  this  day  for  the  most  part,  implicitly  accept  it,  and  hand  it 

*Rev.  Clarence  Woodman,  at  that  time  a  student  of  the  General 
Theological  Seminary,  N.  Y.,  afterwards  joined  the  Church  and  became 
a  Paulist. 

90 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

down  in  their  writings.  The  fact  of  Lingard  rejecting  it  is 
almost  authority  enough,  did  not  the  various  registers  at 
Lambeth  and  different  Cathedrals  and  State  records  prove 
the  true  consecration  most  convincingly.  Considering  that 
we  all  stand  upon  it,  I  think  the  clergy  as  a  rule  are  culpably 
ignorant*. 

"  The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  has  been,  as  usual,  talk- 
ing in  the  most  absurd  and  ignorant  way  about  reunion  with 
Dissenters.  The  other  day  at  Convocation  he  talked  a  lot 
of  bosh  about  Apostolic  Succession  of  the  Lutherans  and 
the  Swedish  and  Danish  churches.  It  is  a  wonder  he  didn't 
mention  our  Methodist  Episcopals;  they  have  bishops,  too, 
by  name.  In  fact  he  did  speak  about  the  three  bodies  of 
the  American  Church,  whatever  that  may  mean — I  don't 
know  I  am  sure.  He  cannot  mean  high,  low  and  broad,  for 
he  certainly  has  no  desire  for  union  with  the  high.  It  is 
sad  such  an  old  Erastian  should  be  a  Primate.  He  is  doing 
his  very  best,  although  he  cannot  understand  it,  to  under- 
mine both  Church  and  State,  for  they  will  certainly  fall 
together.  Mr.  Boddington,  one  of  the  Missioners  who  was 
here,  is  to  be  tried  in  his,  the  Archbishop's  court,  for 
ritualism.  I  think  he  is  able  to  defend  himself  pretty  well. 
I  do  wish,  though,  they  would  try  such  a  man  as  Liddon  or 
Canon  Gregory,  but  that,  apparently,  is  not  the  Archbishop's 
line.  They  couldn't  advertise  Catholicism  better,  and  you 
know  Dr.  Seymour's  expression  about  the  blood  of  the 
martyrs,  etc. 

"  I  am  afraid  this  Lent  will  be  too  enjoyable  for  me, 

*Whatevcr  credence  Catholic  writers  have  given  to  the  Nag's 
Head  Story,  the  truth  or  falsity  of  the  same  in  no  way  affects  the 
incontrovertible   arguments   adduced   against   the   validity   of   Anglican 

orders.- 

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LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

there  are  to  be  such  good  preachers.  The  Bampton  lecturer 
is  the  Bishop  of  Derry,  Dr.  Alexander,  the  only  Irish 
Bishop  who  voted  for  the  Athanasian  creed,  I  believe.  They 
say  he  is  exceedingly  eloquent.  The  lectures  take  place  every 
Sunday  morning  in  Lent  in  the  University  Church. 

"  Dr.  King  preached  this  morning  at  the  Cathedral  on 
fasting.  The  opening  part  was  admirable,  but  alas,  he  is 
far  too  charitable,  for  he  qualifies  so  much  that  every  man, 
woman  and  child  could  make  a  loop-hole  through  which  to 
escape.  I  was  disappointed,  for  I  wanted  someone  who 
shall  be  nameless  to  have  a  good  sermon  on  the  subject. 
They  sang  a  beautiful  Te  Deum  by  Mendelssohn. 

"  Did  I  tell  you  that  I  go  every  Thursday  to  have  a  lesson 
in  intoning  from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hilton,  a  fellow  of  Christ 
Church?  I  get  on  pretty  well.  I  have  a  tendency  to  slide 
up  my  first  note  at  the  beginning  of  a  sentence,  still  I  hope 
practice  will  cure  the  defect.     .     . 

"  I  have  decided  not  to  have  anything  to  do  with  the  work 
over  on  Avenue  C,  or  the  Sisters  there.  What  a  change  of 
plans !  All  seems  to  be  working  for  my  end,  however,  for 
if  I  had  gotten  very  much  interested  there,  how  could  I  ever 
leave  it  when  our  Society  starts.  But  now,  perhaps  I  shall 
have  a  little  country  parish,  a  few  poor  sheep  to  tend — how 
lovely  that  sounds — and  there  are  sure  to  be  a  few  wolves 
disguised  among  them.  Well,  I  shall  tend  those  few  poor 
sheep  and  have  time  to  devote  to  prayer,  meditation  and 
study.  I  suppose  you  are  up  in  arms  against  me  and  are  say- 
ing :  '  Oh,  he  has  gone  back  on  himself  and  doesn't  want 
to  work;  grown  lazy  and  spoiled.'  Quite  wrong  in  each 
particular,  I  assure  you — but  all  in  good  time.  I  am  so 
afraid  sometimes,  that  you  are  only  jesting  about  our  plans 
when  I  am  dead  in  earnest.    At  all  events,  Dr.  King  says  it 

92 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

is  not  ridiculous,  and  I  can't  tell  you  what  comfort  that  is  to 
me. 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry." 

"  31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 

March  16,  1876. 
"  My  Dear  Francis  : 

"  .  .  .1  cannot  believe  it  is  so  late  in  the  year.  All 
the  lectures  are  over  for  the  Lent  term,  although  Liddon  is 
to  give  us  two  or  three  extra  ones  this  week,  as  he  wants  to 
get  through  the  Ephesians  this  year  before  the  long  vacation. 
Dr.  King's  upon  the  requirements  for  the  priesthood  have 
been  very  interesting  this  last  week.  He  took  St.  Gregory  on 
the  Pastoral  care,  St.  Ambrose  on  the  priesthood,  and  St. 
Chrysostom  on  the  same.  He  took  them  in  turn,  giving  a 
day  to  each.  They  are,  as  you  know,  very  tremendous  on 
the  subject,  especially  in  the  Eucharistic  aspect.  He  con- 
cluded with  an  extract  from  St.  Gregory  Nazianzen.  I  am 
sorry  to  say  the  men  pay  very  little  attention,  but  read  all 
the  time — at  least  those  in  the  room  where  we  were.  I  am 
sure  the  majority  are  mere  Erastians,*  going  in  to  please 
their  families,  etc.     I  was  in  hopes  it  had  died  out,  but  am 


*  "  With  Froude,  Erastianism — that  is,  the  union  (so  he  viewed  it) 
of  Church  and  State — was  the  parent  ...  of  liberalism." — New- 
man's Apologia,  Part  TV. 

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LIFE   OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

convinced  of  my  mistake.  One  excuse  is,  I  suppose,  that 
coming  to  the  lecture,  as  they  do,  in  the  midst  of  their  ordi- 
nary University  course,  they  know  nothing  at  all  about  Ec- 
clesiastical History  or  the  Church  itself,  and  so  cannot  be 
expected  to  care  much  about  the  opinion  of  writers  of  whom 
they  are  ignorant.  Good  seminarians  are  certainly  desir- 
able, if  for  nothing  else,  to  make  a  break  between  the  life  of 
the  University  and  that  of  priests  or  deacons ;  otherwise  the 
transition  is  altogether  too  sudden. 

"  Dr.  King's  Friday  Conferences  came  to  a  close  last  week. 
Literally  the  room  was  crowded,  and  men,  as  usual,  standing. 
They  seem  to  be  a  different  set  of  men  from  those  who  attend 
the  lectures.  The  Doctor  was  grand.  We  are  going  to 
hear  him  to-night  at  St.  Barnabas' ;  I  wish  it  were  not  so  far 
away,  as  I  enjoy  the  service  there  so  much. 

"  We  went  this  morning  to  hear  the  first  Bampton  lecture. 
The  Bishop  of  Derry  is  a  splendid  man,  and  we  were  both  de- 
lighted with  him.  The  subject  is  the  '  Messianic  Psalms.' 
The  lecture  was  on  the  22nd.  It  was  beautiful.  He  is 
quite  old,  but  his  voice  clear  and  sympathetic.  We  were,  as 
usual,  fortunate  in  having  such  a  lecturer  for  the  year.  Mr. 
Mylne,  Bishop  designated  to  Bombay,  preached  last  Wednes- 
day night  upon  '  Spiritual  Progress.'  He  was  quite  good, 
but  rather  slow.  He  did  not  hesitate,  yet  seemed  to  weigh 
each  word  before  uttering  it,  which  rather  spoiled  the  effect. 
"  I  think  I  have  heard  Father  Benson  too  often,  for  he 
palls  upon  one  a  little;  he  is  too  severe  and  hard,  and 
takes  too  gloomy  a  view  of  the  state  of  mankind  in  general. 
It  is  the  way  with  monks.  They  wind  themselves  up 
beyond  the  level  of  ordinary  mortals,  and  then  look  down 
with  scorn  upon  the  efforts  of  the  poor  ones  who  must  live 
in  the  world,  however  much  they  may  be  trying  not  to  be 

94 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

of  it.  If  we  want  to  reach  the  hearts  of  the  multitude,  we 
must  be  gentle  and  loving  and  sympathetic,  and  that  monks 
cannot  be  as  a  general  rule,  for  their  vocation  is  to  live  apart 
from  their  fellows  and  even  themselves. 

"  It  is  a  relief  to  turn  to  the  gentle  Dr.  King,  whose  in- 
fluence is  wonderful.  I  couldn't  possibly  be  striving  for  a 
more  difficult  thing  than  to  be  gentle,  forbearing  and  sym- 
pathetic; for  you  know  that,  in  general,  I  have  a  certain 
amount  of  reserve  and  an  immense  amount  of  pride  and  disa- 
greeableness.     Still  I  am  convinced  it  is  the  way. 

"  You  speak  about  my  coming  to  Hoboken.  What  does 
Mr.  P.  say?  Or  is  he  willing  to  take  curates  ad  lib.?  It 
would  be  a  good  beginning  for  the  Society  of  the  Holy 
Cross. 

"  I  went  on  Friday  to  take  my  intoning  lesson  in  the 
Cathedral.  It  is  rather 'trying  to  one's  voice,  as  Hilton  puts 
me  under  the  lantern  tower  and  himself  at  the  worst  point 
for  hearing.  By  way  of  variety,  I  sharped  a  little  instead  of 
flatting.  I  have  bought  a  pitch  pipe.  You  would  be  quite 
horrified  at  the  number  of  my  books.  Tell  me  of  any  in 
particular  you  think  would  be  useful;  ;  ..d  do  tell  me  about 
the  Fathers  we  certainly  must  have. 

"  My  sister  tells  me  of  my  mother's  reason  for  advising 
me  to  stay  abroad — to  keep  me  from,  the  Sisters.  She  does 
not  dream  of  the  Society  of  the  Holy  Cross. 


'  Yours  affectionately, 


" Henry  ° 


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LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

"31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 
"  Mid-Lent  Sunday,  March  26,  187G. 
"  My  Dear  Francis  : 

"  .  .  .  Nothing  very  interesting  is  going  on  here ; 
time,  as  usual,  is  passing  very  quickly.  The  term  is  over,  and 
the  city  is  very  quiet.  We  have  had  two  of  the  eight  Bamp- 
ton  lectures,  which  were  very  fine.  Perhaps  you  may  hear 
some  of  them,  as  they  will  be  resumed  after  Easter. 

"  I  go,  as  usual,  to  the  Mission  House  every  morning  at 
six,  but  am  getting  bravely  over  my  fancy  for  their  phase  of 
the  religious  life.  I  want  something  a  little  broader.  I 
should  hate  to  be  a  mere  machine. 

"  In  the  afternoon  I  had  a  treat — Liddon  at  St.  Paul's, 
on  the  Personality  of  Satan.  I  had  a  splendid  seat  and  en- 
joyed myself  immensely.  Of  course  he  was  grand;  calls 
the  evil  one  Sattan,  and  so  do  most  people  here.  He  was 
very  eloquent,  and  drew  an  immense  crowd.  The  next 
day  I  went  to  St.  Alban's,  as  I  had  a  letter  of  introduc- 
tion to  Mr.  Maconochie  from  Father  Benson,  but  after  I 
got  nearly  there,  I  thought  how  wrong  it  was  to  take  a 
priest's  time  in  Passiontide,  and  I  said  so  to  Mr.  M.  He 
was  very  polite  and  asked  me  to  go  there  any  time  at  one, 
and  lunch,  as  I  should  be  sure  to  find  him  at  home.  Of 
course  he  was  very  busy,  and  so  I  took  my  leave. 

"  I  went  to  Even-song  at  St.  Andrew's,  Well  street,  where 
Barnby  is  organist,  and  where  they  are  supposed  to  have  the 
best  singing  in  Europe.  The  chanting  was  splendid;  so 
precise  and  steady,  but  the  anthem,  a  beautiful   one — '  O 

9G 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

daughters  of  Jerusalem  ' — was  marred  by  the  solo  treble 
boy  having  a  horrible  cold. 

"  You  don't  know  how  you  have  misjudged  me  if  you 
fancy  that  I  am  aristocratic  with  poor  people.  Burgess  is 
constantly  telling  me  that  I  err  on  the  opposite  side,  and  am 
too  easy  and  familiar  with  them.  And  as  to  children,  I  have 
grown  to  love  them.  My  nature,  perhaps,  has  changed 
under  Dr.  King's  influence.  My  only  wish  is  to  work 
among  the  poor.  Burgess  says  that  I  carry  it  to  such  an 
extreme  that  one  would  think  that  the  rich  ought  not  to  be 
preached  to  at  all.  Do  you  imagine  that  I  have  become 
puffed  up  since  I  have  been  here  ?  Oh,  no !  Or  did  you 
fancy  because  I  spoke  of  not  going  to  Avenue  C  that  I 
was  beginning  to  repent  of  my  determination  to  go  among 
the  poor  and  the  uncared  for? 

"  I  have  not  been  at  all  satisfied  with  this  Lent.  I  have 
not  made  progress,  I  grieve  to  say,  but  have  had  a  long 
spell  of  dryness.  It  was  good  for  me,  no  doubt,  as  it  helped 
to  save  me  from  pride  and  presumption,  which,  alas,  I  had 
fallen  into,  I  fear.  It  is  a  temptation,  but  it  is  hard  to  be 
spiritually  dry.  I  hope  now  that  the  worst  is  over,  and  that 
Easter  will  bring  me  peace.  I  feel  utterly  fagged  out  and 
good  for  nothing.  I  went  up  to  London,  hoping  the  change 
would  set  me  up,  but  it  has  only  made  me  more  tired. 

"  Mr.  Lang  came  for  us  to  go  rowing  yesterday  as  it  is 
much  nicer  for  them  to  have  me  to  steer  them.  I  went,  al- 
though really  I  have  not  strength  enough,  and  they  always 
expect  me  to  do  some  rowing.  In  Lent  one  has  not  much  ex- 
tra strength.  Fasting  doesn't  make  me  cross,  and  I  find  that 
I  shall  be  able  to  manage  High  Celebrations  very  well ;  still 
one  doesn't  have  much  energy.  The  air  here  is  not  bracing 
as  at  home.     Spring  is  now  here,  and  the  birds  sing  most 

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LIFE   OF   HENRY   VAN    RENSSELAER 

delightfully.  There  are  quantities  of  larks.  Today  has 
been  very  warm ;  the  hedges  will  soon  be  in  bloom,  and  the 
country  will  be  lovely.     I  do  enjoy  the  country  so  much. 

"  I  should  like  to  have  some  work  to  relieve  the  monotony 
of  study.  Dr.  King  preached  to-night,  Wednesday,  an  ex- 
cellent sermon  :  '  Rest  after  labor,  and  sympathy  for  others.' 
I  long  for  you  to  hear  him. 

"  I  looked  at  some  of  the  Arundel  Society  pictures  in 
London.  I  liked  one  of  Perugino's,  Raphael's  master,  you 
know ;  it  is  in  three  compartments :  central  one,  Our  Lord 
on  the  Cross,  with  one  figure  at  the  foot;  the  side  ones, 
each,  two  figures  gazing  at  Him.  I  have  often  admired  it 
at  Dr.  King's.  There  is  another  by  Fra  Angelico,  but  it  has 
too  many  Popey  people  in  it.  Would  you  buy  the  first, 
and  brass  cross  and  candle-sticks  for  our  private  monastery 
chapel? 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry."' 


31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 

"  Easter  Day,  1876. 


My  Dear  Francis 


"  .  .  .  An  Easter  greeting  to  you.  What  a  comfort 
it  is  to  reach  Easter  after  the  long,  long  fast.  Well,  upon  the 
whole,  I  think  Holy  Week  was  a  very  profitable  one  for  me. 
We  revelled  in  having  a  great  deal  of  Dr.  King.  He  gave 
beautiful  Meditations  on  the  Mondays,  Tuesdays  and 
Wednesdays,  upon  the  types  of  the  Old  Testament,  select- 
OS 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

ing  the  Tree  of  Life,  the  Sacrifice  of  Abraham  and  the 
Brazen  Serpent,  subjects  that  actually  suit  his  devotional 
mind.  On  Monday,  Wednesday  and  Friday  he  preached  in 
the  evening  at  the  Cathedral — of  course,  equally  well.  I  was 
to  have  gone  with  him  on  Friday  to  Abingdon,  but  there 
was  a  misunderstanding  about  the  hour,  and  I  missed  him. 
However,  I  was  quite  reconciled  to  the  disappointment  by 
the  thought  that  there  would  have  been  too  much  pleasure 
in  being  with  and  hearing  Dr.  King  on  Good  Friday.  I 
went  instead  to  the  Cowley  Fathers'  Church.  Father 
Benson  made  the  address  on  the  Seven  Last  Words,  and  was 
particularly  good.  There  was  a  large  congregation.  The 
service  was  wonderfully  melancholic.  The  whole  choir  was 
hung  in  black,  the  altar  perfectly  black,  not  even  relieved  by 
any  white.  The  exercises  began  in  the  morning  with  a  medi- 
tation at  7.30;  then  there  was  a  children's  service,  followed 
by  Matins  and  the  Seven  Words. 

"  For  three  hours  the  bell  at  the  Mission  House  tolled 
every  minute,  and  from  two  to  three  the  church  bell  also. 
The  day  itself  was  gloomy.  I  never  heard  anything 
like  the  whistling  of  the  wind  the  night  before;  there  was 
a  heavy  fall  of  snow,  and  it  was  bitterly  cold,  altogether  cal- 
culated to  make  one  exceedingly  mournful.  By  the  evening 
the  snow  had  completely  vanished,  and  it  had  become  mild 
and  pleasant. 

"  We  had  also  an  appropriate  service  on  Easter  Eve. 
The  church  was  prettily  decorated,  and  the  music  joyful  and 
inspiriting.  Father  Benson,  however,  gave  us  a  very  woful 
sermon,  in  which  he  told  us  we  must  go  through  the  world 
like  the  corpses  that  we  are.  I  could  not  agree  with 
his  gloomy  views  of  the  Christian  life.  It  is  one  thing  to 
be  dead  unto  sin,  and  quite  another  to  be  forever  storming 

99 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

and  raging  against  the  world,  which  we  must  abandon,  alas, 
to  the  unconverted  sinners,  if  all  the  true  followers  of  Our 
Lord  leave  them  to  themselves.  Dr.  King  preached  a  splen- 
did sermon  at  the  Cathedral,  but  the  service  was  miserably 
cold  and  un-Easterlike.  I  got  to  the  Cowley  Fathers' 
in  time  for  the  Celebration,  and  afterwards  went  to  the 
Mission  House  to  dinner,  at  Father  Benson's  invitation. 

"  In  the  evening  I  went  to  St.  Barnabas'  where  they  had 
a  grand  Te  Deum,  such  as  I  described  to  you  at  the  end  of 
the  Mission.  There  was  an  immense  procession,  in  which 
all  the  Sunday-school  children  took  part  and,  although  it 
extended  all  around  the  church,  there  was  not  the  slightest 
confusion.  But  I  am  writing  all  this  one  week  after  the 
date,  to-day  being  Low  Sunday.  I  can  scarcely  realize  that 
it  is  only  a  week  since  then,  but  I  really  despair  of  ever 
finishing  this  letter,  as  this  is  my  third  attempt.  I  must 
tell  you  one  very  good  reason  why  I  was  interrupted.  I 
have  taken  a  little  jaunt  this  week,  and  where  do  you  sup- 
pose I  went  to?  Stoke-on-Tern,  where  the  Society  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  abides.  I  went  very  boldly,  unannounced,  as 
I  thought  it  better,  and  had  no  time  to  wait  for  a  letter  to 
be  answered ;  moreover,  if  they  would  not  show  hospitality, 
I  should  know  what  to  think  of  them ;  but  I  have  no  charge 
of  that  kind  to  make  against  them.  It  was  a  four  hours' 
journey  by  rail.  Just  as  I  reached  the  last  junction 
I  spied  a  little  crowd  of  cassocked  and  cloaked  creatures, 
and  I  guessed  correctly  that  they  belonged  to  Stoke.  When 
we  got  to  the  station  I  marched  boldly  to  the  crowd  and 
asked  if  Father  Bicknall  were  there.  Luckily  he  was.  I 
said  that  Canon  King  had  commended  me  to  him,  etc.,  and 
was  very  warmly  received  by  him.  They  had  all  been  off 
on  an  excursion  to  celebrate  the  Easter   festival.      Stoke 

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LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

can  scarcely  be  defined  by  the  name  of  a  village,  for  it  is 
hardly  a  hamlet,  yet  there  is  a  handsome  stone  church, 
large  and  lately  restored.  The  rectory  is  a  huge  house  for 
such  a  tiny  parish,  with  beautiful  grounds,  a  succession  of 
terraced  lawns  sloping  down  to  a  little  stream,  and  the 
churchyard  adjoining.  The  house  seemed  just  fitted  for 
what  it  is  now  used.  There  are  six  Fathers,  two  were  away, 
one  being  the  Superior,  Father  Corbet,  a  fine  man,  they  say. 
I  was  charmed  with  Father  Bicknall ;  he  is  so  unaffected  and 
pleasant,  and  seems  to  be  really  fatherly.  I  liked  another  one 
very  much,  Father  Douglas,  a  genuine,  whole-souled  crea- 
ture. There  are  besides  five  or  six  lay  brothers.  They 
are  pretty  advanced  in  ritual  and  have  holy  water 
for  crossing  etc.  The  great  objection  I  find  is  that  they 
have  no  definite  aim  at  present,  except  community  life  and 
individual  perfection.  To  be  sure  they  do  give  occasional 
retreats,  still  home  life  seems  to  be  their  aim.  Now,  of 
course,  one  must,  and  one  ought  to,  aim  at  one's  own  per- 
fection, still  I  cannot  help  feeling  and  saying  that  it  seems  to 
me  somewhat  too  narrow  and  selfish  an  aim.  At  least,  I 
could  not  be  happy  there.  I  was  really  oppressed,  or  rather 
depressed,  during  my  visit  of  two  and  a  half  days,  although 
the  services  were  bright  Easter  ones.  I  don't  mean  to  be 
condemning  them  if  they  are  called  to  such  a  life,  but  only 
that  it  is  not  my  ideal. 

"  The  Church  is  wide  enough  for  all  kinds.    I  was  most 

kindly   treated    and   liked   them    personally,    still .      In 

the  evening  from  nine  to  half-past,  all  the  Fathers 
and  lay  brethren  met  in  the  community  room  for  a  chat. 
There  was  one  fine-looking  lay  brother  to  whom  my  heart 
went  out.  Father  told  me  to  stay  as  long  as  I  wanted,  but 
I  thought  it  better  not  to  trespass  too  long  upon  their  hos- 

101 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

pitality.  He  gave  me  a  letter  to  their  curate,  who  was  stay- 
ing in  Lichfield,  where  I  was  going  to  see  the  Cathedral. 
Really  I  cannot  say  too  much  of  the  kindness  with  which  I 
was  treated  everywhere. 

"  The  curate  is  a  very  agreeable  little  man.  The 
Fathers  do  not  care  to  do  parish  work  and  so  engage  him 
for  the  purpose.  He  has  a  wife,  who  is  also  very  pleasant. 
I  dined  at  his  mother's  afterwards,  and  we  went  over  the 
Cathedral  and  library  together.  It  is  a  very  interesting  place, 
built  partly  in  715,  and  dedicated  to  St.  Chad.  We  saw  that 
old  gentleman's  gospels  in  Latin  with  Anglo-Saxon  notes, 
much  coveted  by  the  British  Museum.  It  is  so  encouraging 
to  meet  Catholics  scattered  broadcast  over  the  country. 
It  is  good  for  them,  too,  to  hear  about  the  United  States. 

"  I  was  very  glad  to  get  back  to  Oxford  to-day.  We 
had  a  Bampton  lecture  and  a  sermon  by  Canon  Lightfoot. 
Another  to-night  by  Mr.  Mylne,  Bishop-elect  of  Bombay; 
very  excellent.  It  is  splendid  to  have  good  churchmen  at 
last,  for  Bishops,  and  such  young  men,  too.  Not  a  bit  Eras- 
tian  or  cowards.  I  had  a  most  unsettling  letter  from  my 
mother,  saying  she  had  bearded  the  lion,  Bishop  Potter,  in 
his  den,  and  that  he  had  heartily  agreed  to  my  staying  over 
here  until  the  Autumn  to  travel  with  my  sister.  .  .-  . 
Liddon  will  be  in  residence  in  August.  .  .  .  My 
mother  hopes  that  I  have  become  moderate.  What  think 
you?  Dr.  King  conveys  a  feeling  of  safety,  in  name  at 
least,  to  her  mind,  but  the  reality 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry." 

102 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

"  31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 

"  May  19,  1376. 
"  My  Dear  Francis  : 

"  .  .  .1  ought  to  be  willing  to  make  a  little  sacri- 
fice, to  prepare  myself  for  the  awful  responsibility  of  taking 
charge  of  many  souls.  I  should  not  mind  being  in  the 
country,  the  people  are  so  much  simpler  than  city  people. 
We  walked  out  on  Sunday  afternoon  to  Littlemore  for 
Even-song.  It  was  a  most  lovely  afternoon,  the  sky  cloud- 
less, and  the  church  was  much  brighter  than  when  I  last 
saw  it.  There  was  a  good  congregation,  the  service  choral 
and  well  sung.  The  Vicar  was  rather  a  depressing  little 
man,  and  to  our  regret  he  preached ;  he  had  not  much  to  say 
nor  did  he  say  it  well.  Still  one  must  be  charitable,  for 
Dr.  King  told  that  once  when  Keble  preached  for  him,  an 
old  farmer  remarked  to  him  afterwards,  that  '  it  was  a  pity 
that  the  old  gentleman  should  be  allowed  to  preach.'  Think 
of  Keble  being  thus  criticised. 

"  The  Doctor  is  giving  us  a  very  good  course  of  lectures 
on  Preaching ;  of  course,  coming  from  such  a  good  preacher, 
they  fall  with  double  effect.  On  Friday  evenings  he  is  treat- 
ing the  Lord's  Prayer  to  a  crowded  oratory,  although  it  is 
a  gay  term,  given  up  in  great  measure  to  boating.  The  men 
requested  him  to  make  the  hour  nine  instead  of  eight,  to 
give  them  a  chance  to  get  there.  So  you  see  that  they  really 
enjoy  the  '  talks.'  The  Doctor  thought  seriously  of  not  hav- 
ing them  on  account  of  the  term,  but  was  delighted  to  con- 
tinue them  when  they  were  wanted.  ...  I  mean  to 
try  and  study  very  hard  though  it  is  discouraging — I  have 
such  a  poor  memory.     I  will  make  a  good  house  Father  or 

103 


LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN    RENSSELAER 

parish  visitor  perhaps,  which  may  not  require  very  great 
learning. 

"  Yours  affectionately., 

"  Henry/' 


"  31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 

"  May  26,  1876. 


My  Dear  Francis 


"  .  .  .  Just  think  what  a  state  I  should  be  in  if  I  were 
going  to  sail  to-morrow,  and  on  some  accounts  I  do  wish 
that  I  were.     One  reason  being  that  I  should  see  you.    .    . 

"  How  much  Keble's  life  is  abused.  He  seems  to  be  used 
by  people  as  an  example  of  combining  the  worldly  and  the 
heavenly.  Of  course  it  isn't  a  bit  true.  Burgess  is  very 
much  afraid  of  leaving  me  here  on  account  of  the  Fathers. 
He  seems  to  imagine  that  I  shall  fall  an  easy  victim  after  the 
fright  I  gave  him  last  winter  when  he  was  away,  but  I  don't 
believe  there  is  any  danger;  at  any  rate  my  sister  will  soon 
be  over  to  preserve  me  from  the  allurements.  Frankly, 
though,  there  is  no  reason  for  his  fears.  I  like  them  very 
well  as  individuals,  and  I  like  the  religious  life,  but  never 
would  join  an  English  Order  or  care  to  be  under  Father 
Benson.  I  must  say  I  prefer  a  limited  monarchy  to  an  au- 
tocracy such  as  his. 

"  We  went  on  Sunday  evening  to  St.  Barnabas'.  Mr. 
Holland  preached.  He  is  a  senior  student  (fellow)  of 
Christ  Church,  and  tutor,  and  is  considered,  perhaps,  the 
rising  man;  I  believe  Dr.  Liddon  thinks  so.     I  liked  him 

104 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

very  well,  though  it  was  not  a  remarkable  sermon  in  any 
way,  but  he  may  have  suited  himself  to  the  St.  Barnabas' 
people  and  aimed  particularly  at  simplicity.  He  is  to  preach 
at  the  Cathedral  on  Sunday. 

"  This  week  there  have  been  quite  exciting  boat  races 
every  day.  We  went  three  nines.  The  unattached,  in  whom 
we  took  special  interest  on  account  of  our  friend  Lang  be- 
ing one  of  the  eight,  did  most  wretchedly.  Did  I  tell  you 
how  they  race  here?  I  will  repeat  anyhow.  The  river  is 
so  narrow  that  ten  boats  could  not  possibly  go  abreast,  so 
they  row  in  a  string,  ana  trie  tnmg  to  do  is  to  '  bump  '  the 
one  just  in  front  and  so  work  one's  way  up.  They  row  in 
two  divisions,  the  best  ten  at  7  P.  M.,  the  second  best  at  5.30 ; 
the  head  of  the  second  best  ten  rowing  twice,  in  the  race  at 
5.30,  and  last  in  the  race  at  7  P.  M.  Brasenose  came  off 
victorious.  There  is  a  narrow  bank  path  along  which  the  col- 
lege men  run,  keeping  up  with  their  boats  and  yelling  encour- 
agement at  the  top  of  their  lungs.  It  is  very  amusing  indeed 
to  see  them.  There  are  a  great  many  people  '  up,'  as  they 
are  wont  to  come  for  Commemoration.  Now  that  is  closed  to 
the  public,  they  come  for  the  races  instead.  The  week  unfor- 
tunately has  been  cloudy  and  showery.  They  have  been 
playing  cricket  matches  in  Christ  Church  meadow  in  front 
of  our  house  every  day  this  week.  It  seems  to  me  very 
stupid.  The  men  are  very  swell  and  come  out  in  a  four- 
horse  wagon.  The  Oxford  and  London  coach  makes  quite 
an  excitement  when  it  passes.  You  know  it  is  driven  by 
gentlemen.  They  always  sound  their  horn  when  they  pass, 
and  Burgess  laughs  because  I  rush  to  the  window  to  see  it. 

"  We  are  going  on  a  rowing  expedition  to-morrow  to 
commemorate  Burgess's  last  week-day  in  Oxford.  The 
party  is  to  be  the  two  Langs  and  ourselves.     We  start  at 

105 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

noon  and  expect  to  be  gone  the  whole  afternoon.  We  are 
going  to  surprise  them  with  a  very  recherche  hamper  to 
sustain  us  by  the  way.  Would  that  you  were  here  to  help 
us  discuss  and  enjoy  it.     We  like  the  Langs  very  much. 


"  May  29,  1876. 

"  I  had  to  break  off  and  go  to  a  Missionary  meeting  at 
Corpus  Christi  College.  Bishop  Mylne,  of  Bombay,  was  to 
address  the  people.  It  was  quite  interesting.  You  remem- 
ber, he  is  from  Keble  College,  where  I  dined  with  him.  He 
is  very  popular  and  has  had  fifteen  men  promise  to  go  out  to 
India  to  work  under  him.  None  of  them  are  yet  in  orders. 
The  Bishop's  idea  is  to  have  a  sort  of  Brotherhood  system ; 
at  least  associated  work,  under  his  direction,  and  it  is  owing 
to  that  he  has  got  so  many  men.  One  does  dread  the  idea 
of  working  all  alone  so  far  away.  They  are  to  agree  not  to 
marry  for  a  term  of  years. 

"  On  Saturday  we  had  a  very  jolly  time  indeed.  The 
day  passed  charmingly  without  a  mishap  of  any  kind.  We 
started  at  12  and  got  back  at  8  P.  M.  We  took  turns  in 
rowing  and  towing  the  nine  miles  to  Abingdon,  where 
there  is  a  singular  old  church  with  five  aisles.  It  is 
in  good  Catholic  hands.  There  is  also  a  ruined  Abbey 
there.  We  picnicked  on  a  very  pretty  spot  by  the  river  side, 
and  enjoyed  the  good  things  that  Mrs.  Aldridge  had  pro- 
vided for  us.  We  all  had  a  very  pleasant  time.  It  was 
certainly  very  unlike  the  common  run  of  days  with  me. 

"  Yesterday  Mr.  Holland  preached  at  the  Cathedral  a 
very  excellent  sermon.  Dr.  King  very  kindly  asked  us  to 
take  a  farewell  lunch  with  them.    Then  we  heard  the  Dean 

106 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

of  Rochester,  Scott  (Liddell  and  Scott,  you  know).  I  for- 
got to  say  Canon  Liddon  was  to  have  lunched  at  Dr.  King's, 
but  was  not  well.  I  have  been  going  a  good  deal  to  the  Cathe- 
dral lately.  ...  I  have  been  reading  Keble's  memoirs 
and  have  been  enjoying  the  Lyra  Innocentium.  How  ex- 
quisite those  lines  upon  the  death  of  the  New  Baptized  and 
Disuse  of  Infant  Communion.  The  last  is  enough  to  con- 
vince anyone  but  an  intelligent  layman  of  the  beauty  and 
need  of  it.  And  now  there  is  to  be  a  month  of  quiet  all  to  my- 
self, then  wandering  for  two  months,  and  after  that  home. 
I  am  sure  that  I  have  done  right  in  staying;  my  sister  was 
so  disappointed  when  she  thought  I  would  not  travel  with 
her. 

"  The  weather  is  very  pleasant  now,  the  country  lovely, 
the  birds  sing  more  delightfully,  and  the  hawthorn  hedges 
and  the  wild  flowers  are  charming.  We  heard  some 
cuckoos  on  Saturday  and  are  hoping  for  the  nightingales. 

"  Dr.   King's  lectures  on   Parochialia  are  really  a  help. 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry/' 


"  31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 
"  Whitsan  Eve,  June  3,  1876. 
"  My  Dear  Francis  : 

"  .      .      .     You  can  never  make  your  letters  more  inter- 
esting than  by  telling  me  about  your  boys  and  what  you  are 

107 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

doing  with  and  for  them.  That  is  the  real  way  to  get  at  the 
older  people — through  the  younger ;  one  can  see  how  natural 
it  is  too.  .  .  .  As  to  the  idea  of  dying  young,  one 
ought  not  to  indulge  fancies.  For  your  own  dear  self,  to 
depart  and  be  Avith  Christ,  must  be  better,  but  for  those  who 
are  left,  or  would  have  to  be  left,  it  may  be  more  expedient 
for  you  to  tarry.  About  one  thing  there  can  be  no  doubt ; 
that  until  He  calls  we  are  not  to  go.  We  must  do  all  in  our 
power  to  preserve  our  lives.  You,  of  course,  understand 
that  I  do  not  mean  one  is  to  neglect  any  plain  duty,  or  coddle 
himself,  but  use  ordinary  and  necessary  precautions.  For 
myself,  I  do  not  feel  any  terror  now  at  the  possibility  of 
dying,  only  that  I  have  done  and  am  doing  so  very,  very 
little,  and  that  little  so  feebly  and  imperfectly  for  Him.  One 
would  like  to  feel  that  one  has  fought  the  battle  before  reach- 
ing the  resting  place. 

"  I  am  very  much  interested  in  Keble's  Memoirs,  although 
I  do  think  that  Coleridge  makes  himself  too  prominent 
by  far.  Keble  used  to  take  a  good  many  trips  for  his  wife's 
health,  didn't  he?  Or  perhaps  they  seem  more  frequent 
by  reading'  about  them  in  such  close  connection  in  a  book. 
Dr.  King  has  been  upon  Confession  in  his  last  two  lectures, 
introduced  by  the  reading  of  the  Visitation  Office.  Last 
night  we  had  a  choice  little  conference  on  '  Thy  will  be  done.' 
We  are  to  have  a  treat  to-morrow ;  Dr.  Liddon  is  to  preach 
before  the  University.  Was  I  harsh  in  telling  you  what  he 
said  about  the  League  of  Saint  Cross?  or  did  I  have  the 
tone  of,  '  I  told  you  so  '  ?    If  so,  forget  and  forgive. 

"  If  you  come  to  Keble  you  will  have  great  temptation  to 
go  into  the  delights  of  college  life.  I  feel  that  even  I,  staid 
and  old  as  I  am,  could  very  easily  be  led  away  by  them ;  not 
that  they  are  in  any  way  sinful,  but  only  not  exactly  a  help 

108 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

to  spirituality.  I  do  not  mean  to  speak  of  Keble  especially, 
but  college  life  in  general — unattached.  I  don't  like  it  at 
all — lectures  and  no  congenial  society — nor  do  I  think  Cow- 
ley and  college  at  the  same  time  a  desirable  mixture,  but 
more  of  that  hereafter.  As  to  being  allowed  to  work  in  a 
London  parish,  I  am  sure  there  would  be  no  difficulty,  for 
they  are  always  glad  of  helpers,  especially  if  you  didn't 
need  a  stipend.  I  am  rather  lonely,  but  am  sure  it  is  good 
training  for  me.  Let  me  hear  from  you  as  often  as  you  can ; 
write  scraps  in  pencil  in  any  kind  of  way,  they  will  always 
be  most  acceptable. 

"  You  know  well  that  I  should  love  to  be  with  you  at  the 
Monastery  next  winter — if  you  are  there.  Do  pray  r.or  me 
that  I  may  not  waste  this  summer;  not  that  travelling  is  a 
waste  of  time,  but  there  are  so  many  and  great  temptations 
in  travelling  that  one  finds  many  excuses  for  neglecting 
'  exercises  '  and  church  duties.  And  now  for  the  present 
farewell.  Let  us  continue  and  increase  our  prayers  for  the 
L.  S.  C.     .      .      . 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry." 


"  31  Iffley  Road^  Oxford, 

"  Eve  of  Trinity  Sunday,  June  10,  1876. 

"  My  Dear  Francis  : 

"  .      .      .      Dr.    Liddon    preached    a    beautiful    sermon 
last  Sunday  before  the  University.     I  am  going  to  send 

109 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

you  the  paper  which  has  it,  though  very  much  of  the  charm 
is  in  the  man  himself.  His  red  Doctor's  gown  was  very  be- 
coming. I  had  a  delightful  walk  with  him  on  Friday;  he 
was  very  agreeable.  I  asked  him  a  good  deal  about  the 
Roman  question,  as  it  has  been  brought  before  me  lately 
by  the  perversion  of  a  friend  of  Lang's.  The  Doctor,  of 
course,  was  very  satisfactory.  '  Did  you  ever  read  "  Loss 
and  Gain,"  by  John  Henry  Newman?  If  not  I  shouldn't  ad- 
vise you  to  do  so,'  said  the  Doctor.  But  the  way  it  came 
up  was,  he  took  me  to  see  St.  Bartholomew's  Chapel,  which 
is  mentioned  in  that  work.  It  is  such  a  disgrace  to  Oriel. 
The  religious  house,  of  which  this  was  the  chapel,  was  sup- 
pressed and  given  to  Oriel.  The  chapel,  a  pretty  stone  one, 
of  very  good  style,  is  used  by  the  tenant,  a  farmer,  for  rub- 
bish. Think  of  the  desecration!  The  elevation  for  the 
altar  is  still  there:  the  chancel  steps,  the  gravestones,  the 
rood-screen  still  stands,  but  the  whole  of  the  sacred  place 
is  filled  with  old  wagon  wheels,  doors,  barrels,  etc.  Isn't  it 
shocking?  The  Doctor  said  it  is  the  kind  of  place  that 
would  suit  our  purpose,  referring  to  the  League  of  Saint 
Cross,  which  he  had  not  forgotten,  although  I  had  not 
mentioned  it  again.  He  is  so  kind  and  considerate. 
He  asked  me  if  I  would  not  ever  come  to  England  again, 
and  when  I  said  I  thought  not,  he  said  he  was  sorry,  and 
asked  me  particularly  to  let  him  know  about  my  ordination — 
all  this  spontaneously.  I  had  not  been  speaking-  of  it  at 
all,  and  he  did  it  in  the  midst  of  our  walk,  and  not  merely 
when  he  was  saying  good-bye.  He  said  he  would  be  in 
Oxford  ten  days  longer,  and  if  I  would  look  him  up  he 
would  be  happy  to  take  another  walk.  Now  I  tell  you  all 
this  not  from  any  feeling  of  conceit,  but  just  to  show  you 
how  kind  he  is.     He  seems  to  be  rather  provoked  at  Dr. 

110 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

Nevins'  Preface  to  the  Bonn  Conference,  as  he  alludes  in  it 
very  disparagingly  to  Dr.  Pusey.  I  hope  that  Dr.  Nevins  will 
not  be  at  Bonn  this  year,  but  someone  who  really  under- 
stands the  importance  of  the  subject. 

"  Dr.  King  criticised  one  of  my  sermons  most  carefully. 
He  does  take  so  much  trouble;  he  analyzed  it  and  paged 
it  and  read  it  three  times ;  marked  the  good  points  and  the 
weak  ones.  He  thinks  that  Dr.  Pusey  is  the  best  example  of 
style  for  me  to  study.  I  am  quite  pleased.  What  I  most 
lack  is  analysis  and  due  proportion. 

"  On  Tuesday  is  the  Cuddesdon  Festival,  and  Dr.  King 
has  got  me  an  invitation.  I  went  to  his  last  lecture 
on  Saturday;  he  has  been  dwelling  upon  the  good  points 
of  the  sectarian  bodies  and  urging  us  to  develop  those  same 
points  in  the  Church — the  personal  holiness  they  so  desire, 
the  closer  feeling  of  brotherhood  of  the  Congregationalists, 
and  their  longing  for  an  immediate  union  with  Our  Lord — 
all  of  which  the  Church,  of  course,  ought  to  and  does 
supply.  No  wonder  right-minded  and  earnest  people  de- 
tested the  cold  Erastianism  of  the  last  century ;  but  surely  the 
time  has  come  for  the  Church  to  try  and  bring  back  her  wan- 
dering children.  If  only  the  Roman  Catholics  in  power  were 
like  the  men  we  read  about  with  such  intense  interest,  h^ow 
might  we  hope  for  unity;  but  alas,  the  Vaticanists  are  too 
hideous  in  some  of  their  teaching.  The  notices  or  books 
of  devotion  for  the  month  of  May  lead  one  almost  to  despair 
of  their  ever  being  brought  back  from  their  Saint-worship 
to  the  worship  of  Him  who  is  Himself  the  Brother,  the 
Friend  of  sinners,  and  not  the  angry  Son  of  a  merciful,  for- 
giving Mother.  I  read  with  great  interest  Mr.  Oxenham's 
Preface  to  Dr.  Dollinger's  lectures  on  the  reunion  of  the 
Churches.    By  the  way,  it  was  dedicated  by  Mr.  Oxenham  to 

111 


LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

Liddon.  I  asked  the  Doctor  about  it,  and  he  said  that  the 
Roman  Catholics  were  very  angry  and  had  sat  upon  Mr. 
Oxenham  in  consequence.  The  Doctor  said  he  was  afraid 
that  Mr.  Oxenham  had  gone  back  a  little  in  the  last  year — 
certainly  the  preface  was  wonderfully  liberal.  Let  us  pray 
that  there  may  be  thousands  of  others  like  him,  longing  for 
unity.  Do  you  pray  for  it  ?  I  think  that  we  ought  to  teach 
people  the  necessity  for  intercessory  prayer  more  than  we  do. 
It  is  a  thing  about  which  there  is  most  woful  ignorance, 
even  with  myself,  until  very  lately,  not  wilfully  but  because 
I  knew  no  better. 

"  There  have  been  two  interesting  lectures  on  India  by  the 
Professor  of  Sanskrit.  Really  the  way  that  an  educated 
Brahman  explains  their  idolatry  is  identically  the  same 
as  the  Roman  Catholics'.  Apparently  they,  too,  have 
vague  ideas  about  the  Trinity,  and  the  need  of  an  incarna- 
tion of  God.     It  is  most  interesting. 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry." 


31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 

"June  17,   1876. 


My  Dear  Francis  : 


"  For  the  last  time  do  I  write  you  from  Oxford.     By 
Saturday  next,  I  hope  my  sister  will  be  safely  here.     I  sup- 

112 


E 


E 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

pose  I  am  the  most  absurd  person,  but  really  I  have  not  the 
least  desire  to  go  travelling  this  summer,  not  the  least. 
Oughtn't  I  to  be  ashamed  of  myself  not  to  appreciate  the 
opportunities  that  are  given  me?  Well,  I  am  ashamed,  but 
I  cannot  excite  the  smallest  enthusiasm.  Perhaps,  though, 
when  my  sister  is  with  me,  it  will  be  different.  At  any  rate 
I  have  no  intention  of  putting  any  damper  upon  her  enjoy- 
ment by  seeming  uninterested  or  bored.  It  is  not  that  I  am 
lazy  and  don't  want  to  move,  for  I  should  like  to  have  some 
active  work.  The  dangers  of  travelling  are  fearful.  I  don't 
mean  the  risk  of  one's  life,  physical  life,  but  the  spiritual. 
It  is  so  extremely  easy  to  omit  one's  duties.  I  suppose  a  good 
way  to  keep  them  is  not  to  have  too  many,  but  to  be  very 
particular  about  those  rules  you  do  make.  Dr.  King  made 
some  very  sensible  remarks  apropos  of  this  last  night — that 
it  is  much  better  to  propose  to  read  one  book,  and  do  it,  than 
to  lug  about  in  one's  bag  a  small  library. 

"  I  dined  at  Exeter  College  on  Sunday,  and  went  to  Com- 
pline in  the  rooms  of  my  host.  It  is  very  helpful  to  see  a  lot 
of  University  men  not  ashamed  but  glad  to  meet  for  extra 
prayers. 

"  I  went  over  to  Cuddesdon  on  Tuesday  for  the  fes- 
tival. It  was  silly  for  me  to  go  on  an  anniversary  day,  for 
naturally  everyone  had  his  friends  to  look  after,  and  so  I 
felt  rather  in  the  way ;  not  that  anything  was  done  to  make 
me  feel  so.  There  was  a  surpliced  procession  of  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  men.  headed  by  a  cross  bearer  and  fol- 
lowed by  a  chaplain  with  the  pastoral  staff  and  the  Lord 
Bishops  of  Oxford  and  Maritzburg.  They  sang  as  they 
walked  from  the  college  to  the  parish  church.  After  the 
service  of  Matins  there  was  a  luncheon  in  a  tent  on  the 
lawn.      .      .      .      They   certainly   have   wonderfully   good 

113 


LIFE   OF  HENRY   VAN    RENSSELAER 

officers  at  Cuddesdon ;  Dr.  King,  Dr.  Liddon,  who  was 
vice-president  for  five  years,  and  now  Canon  Furse,  who  is 
a  splendid  man.  They  only  have  three  officers,  president, 
vice-president  and  chaplain.  They  generally  have  about 
twenty  men,  and  the  term  is  only  one  year.  Certainly 
the  men  they  turn  out  are  excellent  specimens.  I  have 
met  a  good  many  at  Dr.  King's,  who  all  say  it  was  the  hap- 
piest year  of  their  lives.  They  have  good  buildings  and 
chapel  and  library.  It  is  in  a  very  quiet  little  village,  seven 
and  a  half  miles  from  Oxford.  The  atmosphere  is  thor- 
oughly Catholic,  and  the  president,  vice-president  and  chap- 
lain are  all  of  one  mind ;  so  naturally  the  influence  is  both 
strong  and  good.  After  the  festival  they  have  a  retreat  for 
old  students,  of  whom  there  were  a  great  many  present.  It 
really  made  me  envious.  Would  that  the  G.  T.  S.  could  be- 
come more  like  it!  How  wonderful  it  would  be!  Perhaps 
the  little  League  of  Saint  Cross  may  be  able  to  help  a  few 
along.     Let  us  hope  at  any  rate  and  pray. 

"  I  should  like  to  know  what  is  to  become  of  yourself  and 
myself.  One  cannot  forecast  at  all.  If  it  so  happens  that 
for  a  time  we  may  not  be  able  to  live  together,  I  see  no 
reason  why  a  solemn  league  and  covenant  might  not  be  made 
by  which  we  could  agree  to  meet  if  possible  at  one  of  our 
rectories  for  mutual  counsel  and  encouragement,  and  per- 
haps for  a  retreat.  Why,  at  least,  shouldn't  we  have  an  as- 
sociation of  prayer  called  the  League  of  St.  Cross,  and  about 
■which  there  need  be  no  secret?  It  is  a  great  thing  to  get 
people  to  help  us  with  their  prayers.  I  am  the  precipitate 
one,  am  I  not? 

"Which  would  be  a  good  motto?  Galatians,  VI,  14. 
either  whole,  or  first  or  latter  half;  or  Galatians,  II,  20;  or 
Philippians,  IV,  13  ;  or  the  old  Oratorian  one,  '  Omnia  vestra 

114 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

in  caritate  fiant '  ?*  What  do  you  say  to  a  cross  with  a  motto 
for  associates?  Tell  me  which  motto  you  prefer,  or  sug- 
gest others. 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry/' 

In  June  Van  Rensselaer's  only  unmarried  sister  came  over 
to  England,  and  they  travelled  together  all  that  summer. 
Fortunately  we  have  three  letters,  which  we  subjoin,  giving 
an  account  of  his  last  student  days  at  Oxford,  and  of  the 
trip  through  England  and  Scotland. 

Windermere, 

"June  25,  1876. 
"  My  Dear  Francis  : 

I  am  really  off  on  my  summer  tour,  you  see, 
and  so  far,  so  well.  I  left  Oxford  on  Friday  for  Liverpool, 
and  on   Saturday,  at  noon,   the   Scythia  arrived.     It  was 


*  The  passages  taken  from  the  Protestant  version  and  referred  to  as 
suitable  for  a  motto  for  the  projected  League  of  Saint  Cross,  or  So- 
ciety of  the  Holy  Cross,  are: 

"  But  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  by  whom  the  world  is  crucified  unto  me,  and  I  unto  the 
world." 

"I  am  crucified  with  Christ:  nevertheless  I  live;  yet  not  I,  but 
Christ  liveth  in  me:  and  the  life  which  I  now  live  in  the  flesh  I  live  by 
the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me  and  gave  Himself  for  me." 

"  I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ  which  strengthened  me." 

115 


LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

very  pleasant  to  see  so  many  home  faces  again — one  new 
one,  too,  in  my  smallest  niece,  a  very  beautiful  child.  Our 
family  party  broke  up,  part  going  to  London  and  the  rest  to 
the  Lake  districts.  You  will  be  amused  to  hear  that  my 
sister  and  I  have,  as  our  travelling  companion,  Dr.  Tyng's 
new  associate  rector,  Dr.  Williams.  They  all  liked  him  very 
much  on  the  steamer,  and  he  was  proposing  to  himself  the 
same  tour  as  my  sister  and  I,  so  we  thought  it  would  be 
pleasant  to  join  company,  as  he  is  alone.  He  is  about  forty- 
five,  and  is  very  companionable,  an  excellent  churchman  in 
many  respects,  and  very  liberal.  He  is  by  birth  a  Virginian, 
has  had  a  parish  at  Georgetown,  D.  C,  for  ten  years,  and 
regrets  the  lack  of  church  discipline  in  the  diocese.  He  has 
really  some  excellent  ideas  upon  the  subjects  which  we  have 
discussed ;  that  is,  he  has  always  made  a  rule  never  to  allow 
any  persons  to  be  sponsors  unless  they  were  communicants. 
Good  and  brave,  isn't  it? 

"  We  are  spending  Sunday  in  just  the  very  loveliest  place 
imaginable,  a  pretty  little  village  on  Lake  Windermere ;  the 
hotel  on  a  hill  overlooking  the  lake,  beautiful  trees,  flower- 
ing shrubs  on  all  sides,  the  water  blue.  There  is  a  quaint 
old  church  here,  prettily  decorated,  surpliced  choir,  etc.  We 
were  so  disappointed  to  find  that  there  had  been  a  Celebra- 
tion at  9.  We  asked  at  the  hotel,  and  they  said  there  was  no 
service  until  10  :45. 

"  I  went  yesterday  to  an  early  Celebration  at  St.  Mar- 
garet's, Liverpool — a  beautiful  church.  I  never  saw  one  I 
liked  better.  I  must  go  backward  a  little  and  tell  you  about 
leaving  Oxford.  I  went  to  the  Commemoration  on  Wednes- 
day, and  it  is  a  stupid  enough  affair,  I  assure  you.  There 
was  some  fun,  though,  before  it  began.  The  undergrads 
made  funny  remarks,  and  gave  cheers  for  people,  etc.,  Girton 

116 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

College  (women,  you  know)  among  them.  The  Vice- 
Chancellor  made  a  Latin  speech,  encouraged  by  such  re- 
marks as  '  Cut  it  short,'  '  Wind  her  up,'  etc.  When  he  con- 
ferred D.  C.  L.'s,  he  had  to  repeat  the  same  form  of  words 
about  ten  times,  and  after  doing  it  once  or  twice  he  was  told 
not  to  do  it  again.  The  poor  old  gentleman  didn't  exactly 
enjoy  it,  and  whenever  a  popular  man  got  the  D.  C.  L.  the 
wretched  undergraduates  would  cap  the  Vice-Chancellor's 
speech  with  a  chorus  of  '  For  he's  a  jolly  good  fellow,'  etc., 
and  it  was  very  funny.  By  far  the  best  looking  man  who 
received  the  degree  was  Lieutenant  Cameron,  of  African 
fame.  He  really  was  intelligent  looking.  Some  of  the 
others  looked  as  though  they  had  been  brought  up  on  Latin 
and  Greek  roots,  and  the  diet  had  not  agreed  with  them. 
The  Bishop  of  Derry  was  an  exception. 

"  I  must  tell  you  about  Liddon.  He  told  his  class  if  they 
wanted  the  conclusion  of  his  analysis  to  go  to  his  rooms  on 
Tuesday.  So  I  went.  I  was  going  to  say  good-bye,  but  he 
asked  me  if  I  wouldn't  like  to  walk.  Of  course  I  did,  so  we 
went  out  walking.  He  again  alluded  to  the  League  of 
Saint  Cross  of  his  own  accord,  and  wanted  to  know  if  we 
couldn't  start  by  having  a  clergy  house ;  so  you  see  he  would 
seem  to  approve  of  our  beginning  at  once.  I  suggested  an 
association  of  prayer,  which  he  thought  would  be  excellent. 
He  promised  to  compose  a  prayer  for  us  to  use,  if  I  should 
write  and  tell  him  what  we  wanted.  He  takes  great  interest 
in  our  spiritual  welfare.  Why  shouldn't  we  have  an  asso- 
ciation? Did  I  speak  of  it  in  my  last  letter?  One  of  our 
friends  wrote  that  he  had  a  strong  longing  for  the  Religious 
life,  but  would  not  allow  himself  to  think  about  it  for  sev- 
eral years,  which  would  amount  to  his  being  engaged  in  the 
meanwhile,  if  not  married.    Now,  we  ought  to  see  what  we 

117 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

can  do  to  help  each  other  along;  he  might  be  very  useful  in 
the  L.  S.  C.  Why  shouldn't  we  have  a  form  of  prayer  and 
intercession  and  a  few  rules  like  those  of  the  Brotherhood 
of  the  Holy  Trinity  at  Oxford  and  Cambridge.  They  are 
not  severe  and  are  good  for  a  beginning.  Then,  if  we  could 
meet  each  other  occasionally,  at  least  once  a  year,  for  a  re- 
treat and  a  conference,  in  a  little  while  we  might  try  in  good 
earnest.  I  feel  sure  that  there  must  be  many  other  men  like 
ourselves,  only  waiting  for  something  to  turn  up  and  help 
them. 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry." 


Melrose, 

"  St.  Peter's  Day,  June  29,  1876. 

"  My  Dear  Francis  : 

"  I  did  hope  to  have  sent  this  off  before  now,  but  one  has 
so  very  little  time  in  travelling,  and  we  are  travelling  with  a 
vengeance.  To-morrow  night  we.  hope  to  be  in  England 
again.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  the  saying — I'appetit  vient 
en  mangeant — in  my  case,  is  untrue  of  travelling;  for  the 
more  I  travel  the  less  I  care  for  it.  I  cannot  get  up  any  ex- 
citement at  all,  and  it  is  really  most  tiresome  to  me.  My 
sister  and  Dr.  Williams  enjoy  it  all  immensely.  On  some 
accounts  I  would  just  as  lief  not  have  him.  My  sister  says 
it  is  fortunate  that  he  is  with  us,  as  I  should  be  tempted  to 
hurry  her  past  a  great  many  interesting  places,  which  is 

118 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

rather  mean,  considering  that  I  am  here  entirely  on  her 
account. 

"  We  saw  the  English  lakes  under  the  most  favorable  con- 
ditions; shed  some  tears  over  Wordsworth,  Southey,  etc., 
and  came  to  Edinburgh.  Holyrood,  of  course,  is  very  in- 
teresting, but  I  hate  to  be  in  Scotland  on  account  of  the  pre- 
vailing religion.  Everything  speaks  to  me  of  desecration, 
ruined  abbeys,  or,  sadder  yet,  cathedrals  and  churches  trans- 
formed into  kirks  and  meeting-houses.    No  doubt  the  monks 

were  bad,  but and  to  think  of  people  daring  to  destroy 

the  houses  of  God,  and  to  use  the  materials  to  build  them- 
selves houses — how  dare  they  do  it?  No,  I  may  be  narrow- 
minded,  but  it  is  a  fact  all  the  same,  that  I  cannot  see  any- 
thing nowadays  except  in  connection  with  the  Church  and 
the  Church's  Head. 

"  On  Tuesday  we  went  to  Roslyn  Chapel,  a  most  exquisite 
thing,  built  in  the  fifteenth  century,  apparently  regardless 
of  expense,  entirely  of  stone ;  every  stone,  almost,  beautifully 
carved.  It  is  really  a  wonderful  piece  of  work.  In  those 
days  nothing  was  too  rich  or  too  expensive  for  the  glory 
of  God.  The  present  Earl  of  Roslyn,  a  Catholic  (not  Roman 
Catholic)  has  restored  it  to  the  service  and  '  ad  majorem  Dei 
gloriam,'  as  he  calls  it — keeps  a  chaplain  and  has  the  chapel 
properly  equipped,  cross,  candles,  etc.,  and  services,  although 
he  does  not  himself  live  near.  It  is  encouraging  in  such  a 
dead  level  of  Presbyterianism. 

"  This  morning  we  went  to  an  early  Celebration  of  All 
Saints'  Cathedral,  Edinburgh.  It  is  Catholic,  too.  They 
used  the  Scotch  Liturgy,  which  is  more  like  the  Roman  than 
ours.  The  Consecration  and  oblation  come  first,  then  the 
prayer  for  the  Church  and  the  Lord's  Prayer  before  Com- 
munion.   I  rather  like  it.    Yesterday  we  made  a  tour  of  the 

119 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

Scotch  lakes,  Lomond  and  Katrine,  and  Stirling  Castle,  and 
to-day  we  have  been  to  the  Abbey  here  and  to  Dryburgh. 
The  latter  is  most  beautiful,  although  very  ruinous,  and  is 
situated  in  the  midst  of  exclusive  grounds.  Sir  Walter  Scott 
is  buried  in  one  of  the  ruined  chapels;  but  it  is  altogether 
sad  to  my  mind  to  see  such  ruins.  To-morrow  morning 
we  go  to  Abbotsford,  and  then  on  to  Durham  and  York,  etc. 

"  Perhaps  you  will  be  glad  to  hear  that  I  have  taken  our 
passage  for  September  9th,  in  the  Scythia,  and  I  hope  that 
we  shall  get  off  then,  though  our  departure  may  be  postponed 
until  a  little  later  if  necessary.  I  shall  be  so  glad  to  get  back. 
Can't  you  wait  for  my  return  for  your  retreat  at  Boston, 
and  we  shall  go  together  ? 

"  I  did  not  tell  you  about  Liddon's  farewell.  I  asked  him 
for  his  blessing,  and  he  not  only  gave  me  that,  but  went  up- 
stairs and  tried  to  find  a  little  book  of  Bishop  Andrews 
on  Devotion  for  the  Sick,  for  which  he  had  written  a  preface. 
He  did  not  find  it,  and  he  brought  me  '  Some  Elements  ' 
instead.  He  asked  me  if  I  had  it ;  I  said  that  I  had.  I  didn't 
know  what  the  other  book  was  and  rather  wanted  it.  So  he 
rummaged  round  and  found  a  copy,  in  which  he  wrote : 
'  From  his  affectionate  friend,  H.  P.  Liddon,'  and  in  Greek, 
1  Contend  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  Saints.'  He 
asked  me  to  write  to  him,  as  if  he  really  cared  to  hear,  and 
said  that  I  mustn't  mind  sometimes  if  he  could  not  always 
answer  on  account  of  business.  Wasn't  it  good  of  him? 
Well,  you  know,  I  did  hanker  for  the  '  Some  Elements  ' 
dreadfully,  but  didn't  like  to  tell  him  so.  The  other  little 
book  is  nice,  but  mostly  Bishop  Andrews',  which  was  proba- 
bly the  reason  why  he  selected  it,  being  like  most  truly  great 
men — modest.  I  could  not  resist  writing  him  a  little  note 
the  next  day,  asking  him  if  I  could  not  have  '  Some  Ele- 

120 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

merits/  he  had  meant  to  give  me.  The  book  came  in  reply 
with  the  motto  from  St.  Augustine — '  Ama  et  fac  quod  vis' 
— and  of  course  my  name,  and  from  him.  The  angelic  Dr. 
King  gave  me  a  copy  of  St.  Anselm's  Meditations,  with  a 
very  touching  inscription.  My  friend  Lang  gave  me  '  Prome- 
theus Vinctus,'  done  into  English  verse  by  himself  at  the  age 
of  17.  It  was  quite  a  wrench  for  me  to  leave  Oxford.  I 
have  forgotten  a  most  unlooked-for  token  from  my  fellow 
boarder,  Miss  Seal,  a  beautifully  worked  chalice  veil,  cor- 
poral, etc.,  done  by  herself,  lace  and  all.  I  had  my  photo- 
graph taken  for  my  Oxford  friends  in  ordinary  dress ;  I  will 
send  you  one.  Don't  think  about  St.  Clement's,  I  beg  you. 
If  you  take  a  holiday  do  write :  have  heard  nothing  more 
about  Keble  College. 


Yours  affectionately, 


Henry.' 


After  the  visit  to  Scotland,  the  little  party  then  crossed 
over  to  Holland  and  Belgium.  The  Low  Countries  infected 
Van  Rensselaer  with  malaria,  so  that,  when  they  got  into 
Switzerland  via  the  Rhine, he  was  taken  down  with  a  fever. 
This  interrupted  his  plans  somewhat,  for  towards  the  close 
of  August  he  was  again  at  Oxford,  where  he  remained 
until  his  departure  for  America  a  fortnight  later.  By  this 
time  he  had  definitely  abandoned  his  purpose  of  working 
among  the  poor  on  the  East  Side,  but  he  still  clung  to  the 
dream  of  founding  a  religious  community  that  would  fill 
a  very  noticeable  gap  in  the  American  branch  of  the  Anglican 
Church.  He  again  refers  to  the  subject  in  these  two  letters, 
which  were  the  last  he  wrote  from  England. 

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LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

"  31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 
"  St.  Bartholomew's  Day,  August  24,  1876. 
"  My  Dear  Francis  : 

"  I  am  once  more  comfortably  installed  in  my  old  quarters 
here,  and  it  seems  natural  and  pleasant.  ...  I  don't 
see  the  advantage  for  you  of  a  year  spent  working  in  London 
as  a  member  of  the  League  of  Saint  Cross.  Of  course  I 
understand  your  idea  of  learning  to  work  among  the  poor, 
but  after  all  the  Oratorian  work  and  life  is  not  one  devoted 
to  parish  work,  but  more  one  to  be  spent  in  trying  to  pro- 
mote spirituality  among  the  seminarians  and  clergy,  one  to 
try  and  raise  the  tone  of  the  clergy  both  intellectually  and 
spiritually.  But  how  will  a  year  of  hard  work  among  the 
poor  conduce  to  fitting  you  for  it  ?  It  strikes  me  that  what 
we  need  is  enough,  not  overmuch,  work,  time  for  medita- 
tion and  prayer,  and  as  much  retirement  as  possible.  As 
you  say,  we  should  not  get  too  much  interested  in  individuals 
and  places.  That  was  one  of  my  chief  reasons  for  giving  up 
Avenue  C.  I  knew  I  should  be  much  interested,  and  that  it 
would  be  almost  impossible  to  tear  myself  away  from  it 
after  having  once  taken  it  up.  We  really  ought  to  exert 
ourselves  to  the  utmost  to  be  together,  and  near  enough  New 
York  to  have  an  influence  at  the  General  Theological  Semi- 
nary.     ... 

"  I  am  sure  it  will  all  come  out  right,  and  I  have  the  live- 
liest hopes  for  the  League  of  Saint  Cross.  Don't  you  think 
you  have  overlooked  the  main  object  of  '  L'Oratoire  '  in  your 
desire  to  be  an  efficient  parish  priest  ?      .      .      . 

"  It  is  very  pleasant  to  be  settled  again  within  sound  of 
the  church  bells.  I  go  to  a  retreat  at  the  Fathers'  on 
Monday  to  last  until  Friday  evening.     I  hope  I  shall  get 

122 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

back  some  spirituality,  for  I  feel  so  hard  and  dry  now.  How 
true  it  is  that  if  one  does  not  go  forward  in  the  spiritual 
life  one  does  not  stand  still  but  goes  backward.  The  retreat 
is  to  be  for  priests,  so  I  suppose  I  shall  have  to  don  my 
clericals,  cassock  at  least,  so  as  not  to  be  conspicuous.  I 
received  a  warm  welcome  from  the  Fathers  and  dined  there 
yesterday.  They  never  try  to  convert  me :  only  Father 
Prescott  does  that. 

"  What  a  work  there  is  to  be  done,  and  doesn't  it  seem 
well  nigh  presumptuous  for  us  young  men  to  try  to  do  the 
little  we  can.  It  would  be  so  indeed  if  we  did  not  firmly 
believe  the  truth :  '  Ye  have  not  chosen  me,  but  I  have 
chosen  you.'  How  that  alters  everything.  No  longer  pre- 
sumptuous, no  longer  hopeless,  but  in  quiet  confidence  and 
with  an  holy  boldness,  being  called,  we  obey  the  Master's 
voice.  People  are  sure  to  say :  '  You  ought  to  wait  for 
some  older  and  more  experienced  person  to  lead  the  way ' ; 
but  look  at  the  founders  of  the  Religious  Orders;  none  of 
them  were  old  men  when  they  started  them.  All  began 
their  work  young,  even  if  the  completion  was  long  de- 
ferred. 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry." 


"My  Dear  Francis  : 


31  Iffley  Road,  Oxford, 

"  September  1,   1876. 


•      I  am  now  writing  to  you  for  the  very  last 
time  from  Oxford,  at  least  so  far  as  I  can  tell.     This  night 

123 


LIFE   OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

week  we  shall  be  in  Liverpool  ready  to  sail  on  Saturday.  I 
am  sure  you  are  pining-  to  go  to  New  York.  Do  come  on 
to  meet  me,  or  if  not  that,  as  soon  as  possible.  You  may 
have  been  expecting  to  hear  of  Mr.  Lowder's  decision,  but 
you  know  one  can  read  no  letters  during  retreat,  and  so  I 
did  not  get  his  answer  until  to-day.  He  says  that  he  is 
sorry  that  lie  has  no  room  for  you,  but  advises  me  to  apply  to 
Father  Benson,  who  can  doubtless  assist  me  to  find  a  place. 
I  still  cling  to  the  idea  of  Hoboken.  Do  have  a  letter  waiting 
for  me  at  home  telling  me  whether  Mr.  Wetherill  is  at  the 
Holy  Innocents'  or  not.  If  he  is  I  shall  go  over  and  see  him 
before  calling  on  the  Bishop,  as  it  would  be  well  to  have  my 
plans  laid  before  seeing  him.  I  don't  think  there  is  a  chance 
of  my  going  back  to  England,  certainly  not  at  once ;  not  for 
any  lukewarmness  for  the  interest  of  the  L.  S.  C,  I  assure 
you. 

"  I  don't  see  how  its  interests  will  be  advanced  by  such 
a  step.  I  am  reading  Mrs.  Oliphant's  Life  of  St.  Francis 
of  Assisi,  and  am  almost  convinced  that  his  example  might 
be  followed  with  advantage  in  this  century.  What  think 
you  of  turning  Franciscan?  I  am  not  jesting,  I  have  really 
been  thinking  of  it ;  not  the  Roman  Catholic  Order,  but  one 
like  it;  yet  I  fear  you  will  laugh  at  me  and  say  it  does  not 
look  much  like  it  to  be  buying  lots  of  clothes  and  books,  etc. 
It  is  a  little  contradictory,  to  be  sure. 

"  The  retreat  ended  this  morning;  there  were  eighteen 
priests  and  your  brother  Henry,  disguised  as  a  priest  in 
cassock  and  clerical  colar.  It  seemed  quite  natural  for  me. 
Father  Benson  was  the  conductor  and  gave  very  good  ad- 
dresses, although  a  trifle  transcendental.  He  has  a  deep  in- 
sight into  spiritual  things.  I  think,  though,  that  in  all  my 
life  I  never  passed  three  longer  days.     It  seemed  as  if  the 

124 


LETTERS  FROM  OXFORD 

day  would  never  come  to  an  end.  There  were  four  ad- 
dresses a  day — think  of  it !  On  Wednesday  they  had  special 
services  for  missions  and  a  litany  which  seemed  perfectly 
endless.  You  think  me  very  bad,  but  I  can't  help  it.  I  am 
afraid  I  have  no  vocation  for  the  Evangelist  Fathers'  life. 
God  grant  I  may  have  for  another  phase  of  the  Religious 
life.  After  being  silent  all  the  week,  it  seemed  as  if  I  could 
not  sing  enough  when  I  got  back  here.  My  landlady  says 
she  likes  me  to  do  it. 

"  .  .  .  I  gave  a  hint  of  our  plan  to  Tompkins,  who 
takes  the  greatest  possible  interest  in  the  League  of  Saint 
Cross  and  longs  to  help  us.  He  already  does  so  with  his 
prayers.  A  lady  member  of  the  Confraternity  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  is  his  right-hand  helper.  Poor  fellow,  he  has  a 
hard  struggle  out  there  in  the  West.  You  should  hear  him 
speak  about  Sectarianism.  It  would  do  your  heart  good. 
I  cannot  but  feel  that,  under  God,  I  have  had  influence  on 
him,  which  only  shows  how  much  a  little  sympathy  and  kind- 
ness can  effect.  Let  us  be  encouraged,  dear  friend,  to  try 
what  we  can  do  for  others. 

"  What  a  delight  it  will  be  to  see  you  again,  but  I  also 
dread  it,  too.  You  may  have  imagined  or  hoped  that  you 
would  see  a  great  change  for  the  better  in  me.  Alas !  I  fear 
that  the  improvement  is  but  small,  but  I  do  not  despair. 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Henry,  L.  S.  C. 


125 


CHAPTER   VII. 
Anglican  Deacon. 

IN  mid- September  Van  Rensselaer  arrived  in  America, 
and  about  a  month  later,  on  St.  Luke's  Day,  October 
18,  1876,  Bishop  Horatio  Potter  ordained  him  deacon.  He 
had  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would  always  teach  exactly 
what  he  believed,  and  he  had  quite  definite  ideas  on  religious 
matters.  Being  independent  of  salary,  he  determined  to 
cast  his  lot  with  his  friend  at  the  seminary,  Francis  P.  Mack- 
all,  also  a  deacon,  who  had  decided  to  work  in  the  new  parish 
of  the  Holy  Innocents,  Hoboken.  The  rector  was  pleased  to 
have  their  services  for  nothing,  and  gave  them  free  fling. 
Opposite  the  church  they  took  an  apartment,  which  they  fitted 
up  in  monastic  style,  with  a  chapel  and  altar.  Indoors  they 
always  wore  cassock  and  biretta. 

Thus  was  Van  Rensselaer  installed  in  his  new  field  of 
work  as  an  ordained  deacon  of  the  Anglican  Church  in 
America.  New  experiences  crowded  in  upon  him,  and  all 
the  while  he  was  drawing  nearer,  albeit  unconsciously,  to 
the  truth,  the  evidences  of  which  could  not  be  long  de- 
layed. The  rector  was  supposed  to  be  a  very  high  church- 
man. At  all  events  he  liked  ritualism.  To  check  his  exalted 
views,  the  trustees  of  the  church  had  named  an  assistant  of 
the  lowest  type  of  churchmen.  The  other  assistants  deemed 
him  unorthodox,  and  with  the  rector's  connivance  and  co- 
operation, they  denounced  him  to  the  Bishop  of  New  Jersey, 
Dr.  Odenheimer,  on  the  charge  of  Nestorianism.  The 
Bishop  suspended  him.  This,  however,  the  good  assistant 
declared  he  did  not  mind,  as  he  was  simply  relieved  of  his 
duties.     He  continued  to  draw  his  salary. 

126 


ANGLICAN  DEACON. 

At  times  there  were  extravagant  exhibitions  of  ritualism. 

"  I  shall  never  forget  the  midnight  Mass  that  Christmas 
in  the  Holy  Innocents,"  he  says.  "  We  were  to  appear  for 
the  first  time  in  vestments.  As  these  were  tentative,  they 
were  made  of  linen.  The  effect,  especially  of  the  dalmatics, 
was  startling,  and  when  the  choristers  beheld  us  they  burst 
out  laughing  and  whispered  audibly,  '  night  shirts.'  But  we 
went  out  all  the  same  in  solemn  procession  through  the 
church,  to  the  great  admiration  of  the  people. 

"  Those  were  wonderful  functions  of  the  go-as-you-please 
style,  and  necessarily  so,  for  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer 
makes  no  provision  for  such  Popish  ceremonies. 

"  Another  sample  of  the  absurdity  of  ritualism  was  given 
at  a  funeral  of  one  of  our  choristers.  We  decided  to  have 
a  Requiem  Mass.  Of  course,  there  is  no  provision  made  in 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  for  a  Mass  of  any  kind,  as  the 
Articles  of  Religion  in  that  book  denounce  Masses  as  an 
abomination  and  a  Popish  invention.  But  such  a  denuncia- 
tion only  whets  the  desire  of  a  ritualist.  So  a  Mass  of 
Requiem  was  to  be  sung.  But  how  about  vestments  ?  Our 
church  had  not  risen  to  the  height  of  colored  vestments, 
except  stoles.  They  had  to  be  borrowed.  We  selected 
violet  ones  as  being  less  lugubrious.  Violet  ones  were, 
therefore,  procured  for  the  occasion  from  a  very  high  church 
in  New  York.  But  our  troubles  did  not  end  with  getting 
vestments.  How  were  we  to  transform  the  Communion 
service  in  the  Prayer  Book  into  a  Requiem  Mass?  Some 
parts  would  do,  but  others  were  very  inappropriate.  What 
connection  could  there  be  between  the  dead  and  the  recital 
of  the  ten  commandments  with  the  response :  '  Lord,  have 
mercy  upon  us  and  incline  our  hearts  to  keep  this  law  '  ?  So 
we  eliminated  the  ten  commandments.     But  how  about  the 

127 


LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN    RENSSELAER 

'  Gloria  in  Excelsis  '  ?  This  seemed  too  joyous,  so  out  it  went 
from  our  constructed  Mass.  The  ceremony,  in  fact,  was  a 
very  remarkable  one  and  evoked  much  comment,  as  well 
it  might,  for  neither  celebrant  nor  assistants  knew  what  was 
to  be  done,  as  there  were  no  rubrics  in  our  Prayer  Book  to 
direct  us." 

Life  in  church  matters  became  rather  discouraging  for 
Van  Renssalaer  and  Mackall.  The  assistant  minister  had 
been  evicted,  it  is  true,  but  there  was  no  responsive  chord 
in  the  congregation.  It  was  dreary,  indeed,  to  say  morning 
and  evening  prayer  for  one  person,  and  to  address  this  one 
person,  a  woman,  as  "  dearly  beloved  brethren."  To  make 
matters  worse  they  were  only  a  couple  of  blocks  away  from 
a  Catholic  Church.  It  made  them  green  with  envy  when 
they  saw  the  crowds  that  poured  into  it  on  Sunday,  and 
even  on  week-days.  What  a  contrast  was  St.  Mary's  Cath- 
olic Church  to  their  poor  Holy  Innocents' ! 

The  rector  was  hardly  the  man  to  help  them  in  their 
difficulties,  as  may  be  judged  from  the  following  inci- 
dent : — 

"  We  had  a  trial  in  Lent,  when  the  rector  slated  him- 
self for  a  course  of  sermons.  Perhaps  the  most  read  book 
in  those  days  in  religious  circles  was  Farrar's  '  Life  of 
Christ.'  There  were  many  cheap  editions,  and  every  Prot- 
estant household  was  likely  to  possess  a  copy.  What  was  our 
dismay  when  the  opening  sermon  of  the  course  was  a  chap- 
ter, word  for  word,  from  this  book,  carefully  copied  and 
read.  Now  Farrar  is  absolutely  heretical  in  his  teaching 
about  the  temptations  of  Christ,  stating,  as  he  does,  that 
Christ  could  have  sinned.  What  was  to  be  done  to  ward  off 
the  reading  of  such  a  doctrine  ?  It  was  bad  enough  to  have 
any  of  the  book  read,  for  we  knew  that  members  of  the 

128 


ANGLICAN  DEACON. 

I 
congregation  had  it  at  home,  and  would  probably  recognize 
the  steal.  So,  as  that  Sunday  he  was  to  dine  with  us,  we 
put  our  copy  of  the  book,  opened  at  the  chapter,  in  a  most 
prominent  place.  But  as  it  did  not  seem  to  attract  his  at- 
tention, we  deliberately  brought  up  the  subject  of  Farrar's 
heretical  teaching  on  that  point.  The  shaft  went  home.  The 
rector  became  excited  and,  saying  that  he  had  a  few  finishing 
touches  to  put  to  that  night's  sermon,  excused  himself  and 
went  home.     So  that  night  we  had  Farrar  amended." 

After  a  couple  of  months  Van  Rensselaer  became  con- 
vinced that  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  had  no  authori- 
tative teaching,  nor  the  authority  to  teach.  People  believed 
as  much  or  as  little  as  they  liked.  The  reading  of  Allies' 
"  See  of  Peter,"  which  deals  with  authority  and  jurisdiction, 
made  a  serious  impression  upon  him.  Newman's  "  Anglican 
Difficulties  "  did  not  improve  the  Anglican  position  in  his 
eyes.  But  he  was  fair  and  read  the  other  side  as  well.  Hes- 
sey's  "  Rise  of  the  Papal  Power  "  and  Pusey's  "  Eirenicon  " 
were  supposed  to  be  antidotes  to  Allies'  "  See  of  Peter '' 
and  Newman's  "  Apologia."  The  more  he  read  the  Angli- 
can side  the  more  disposed  was  he  to  the  Roman. 

These  views  were  all  shared  by  his  clerical  friend,  to  whom 
he  had  written  frequently  from  Oxford,  and  who  was  now 
associated  with  him,  as  fellow  assistant,  at  the  Holy  Inno- 
cents, Hoboken.  Yet  they  would  not  make  their  submis- 
sion to  Rome  while  they  had  any  misgivings  as  to  the  step, 
or  while  there  was  a  single  loop-hole  of  escape.    He  writes : 

"  When  our  position  became  unbearable,  we  turned  to  our 
erstwhile  confessor  of  seminary  days,  and  wrote  to  him  of 
our  troubles.  The  answer  was :  '  Come  on  to  the  Church 
of  the  Advent  in  Boston  ' — where  he  was  the  Superior  and 
Rector.  This  was  the  old  '  Advent '  in  Bowdoin  Street, 
not  the  new  one  of  the  name  in  Mt.  Vernon  Street.     So 

129 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

to  Boston  we  betook  ourselves,  my  friend  and  I.  We  met 
with  a  warm  welcome  and  the  assurance  that  we  had  no  real 
difficulties,  but  that  our  dissatisfaction  was  the  natural  re- 
sult of  our  being  unsuccessful  in  Catholicizing  our  congre- 
gation. This  did  not  satisfy  our  doubts;  so  we  began  to 
question  some  of  the  other  '  Fathers/  to  the  chagrin  of  the 
Superior,  who  made  the  proud  claim  that  he  was  the  first 
monk  ordained  in  England  since  the  Reformation.  Had  he 
qualified  the  assertion  by  prefixing  Protestant  to  the  monk, 
it  might  have  been  true.  Among  the  daily  prayers  recited 
in  community  was  one  that  struck  us  as  being  peculiar.  It 
was  for  the  restoration  of  the  abbey  lands  in  England.  I 
asked  the  Superior  the  meaning  of  the  prayer,  and  to  whom 
should  the  lands,  in  his  estimation,  be  returned.  This  was 
an  unexpected  question,  and  he  was  nonplussed  for  a  while ; 
then  he  said  :  '  Why,  to  us,  of  course ;  the  rightful  successors.' 
This  was  a  little  too  much;  so  I  asked  in  what  conceivable 
way  the  Cowley  Fathers  could  be  the  rightful  successors 
of  Carthusians,  Cistercians,  Augustinians,  Franciscans  and 
Dominicans  ?  The  only  reply  was  a  contemptuous  '  Bosh !  ' 
But  he  saw  clearly  that  we  had  difficulties  beyond  his  reach ; 
so  he  said  we  had  too  strong  an  attack  of  the  Roman  fever 
to  be  cured  by  him,  and  that  we  had  better  go  where  we 
belonged.  Yet,  his  advice  would  be  for  us  to  go  to  some 
congenial  parish,  where  we  might  meet  with  the  success  we 
yearned  for.  We  were  really  docile.  My  friend  was  shipped 
to  St.  Clement's,  Philadelphia,  and  I  to  the  House  of 
Prayer,  Newark.  The  game  was  to  separate  us.  We  made 
no  opposition. 

"  I  was  perfectly  frank  with  the  rector  in  Newark  and 
told  him  exactly  the  state  of  my  mind,  adding  that, 
under  the  circumstances,  I  did  not  think  I  could  take  any 
active  part  in  the  church  work.     He  said  that  he  under- 

130 


ANGLICAN  DEACON. 

stood  the  case  perfectly,  as  he  had  himself  passed  through 
the  same  ordeal,  and  that  he  would  leave  me  perfectly  free; 
that  he  had  a  large  controversial  library  which  was  at  my 
disposal.  So  I  settled  down  supposedly  to  study.  In  reality 
his  intention  was  to  keep  me  so  busy  that  I  should  not  have 
time  to  think.  Among  other  things,  I  was  to  have  charge 
of  the  men's  Bible  class.  I  had  not  been  long  in  Newark 
when  my  friend  wrote  me  that  his  position  in  Philadelphia 
was  unbearable  and  suggested  that  he  join  me.  I  pro- 
posed the  matter  to  the  rector,  and  he  approved  the  plan, 
with  a  full  understanding  of  the  state  of  our  minds.  So  my 
friend  came  on  to  Newark,  and  we  again  set  up  a  monastery 
on  a  small  scale.  The  charge  of  the  Sunday-school  was 
given  to  my  friend,  and  he  was  kept  busy  preparing  children 
for  Communion  and  Confirmation. 

"  There  was  a  '  mission  '  given  in  our  church  by  the 
Cowley  Fathers,  and  the  well-known  Father  Maturin  was 
the  chief  preacher.  He  labored  manfully  to  prove  the  catho- 
licity of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  but  the  cause  was 
a  hopeless  one,  and  his  failure  to  prove  his  point  a  help  to  us. 
He  was  unsuccessful  in  his  efforts  to  bring  people  to  con- 
fession. A  handful  of  women  were  the  only  penitents.  I 
remember  well,  on  the  Sunday  afternoon  of  the  mission,  the 
members  of  one  of  the  regiments  of  Newark,  of  which  the 
rector  was  chaplain,  were  invited  to  attend.  I  happened  to 
be  standing  just  outside  the  church  door  in  cassock  and 
biretta.  An  unmistakable  son  of  Erin  sauntered  up  and  took 
off  his  hat  to  me.  I  at  once  asked  him  what  church  he  at- 
tended. He  answered  that  he  went  to  St.  James'.  I  asked 
him  what  he  was  doing  at  the  House  of  Prayer.  He  said 
that  he  thought  it  no  harm.  I  bade  him  go  home.  He  went. 
My  action  in  this  matter  shows  how  the  wind  was  blowing 
Romeward.     The  breeze  was  stiffening." 

131 


CHAPTER    VIII. 
His  Conversion. 

THE  weeks  wore  on,  but  no  peace  came  to  Henry's  mind. 
Catholicism  did  not  seem  any  more  attractive,  but 
Protestant  Episcopalianism  had  no  more  staying  power  for 
him.  It  was  impossible  to  continue  in  such  a  frame  of  mind. 
What  was  to  improve  it?  Of  Rome,  personally  he  knew 
nothing.  He  had  never  spoken  to  a  priest  on  the  subject, 
had  attended  very  few  Catholic  services,  and  had  a  mass  of 
prejudices  against  Rome. 

In  the  story  of  his  conversion  Van  Rensselaer  gives  a 
vivid  picture  of  the  doubt  and  torture  of  a  mind  on  the 
threshold  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

"  No  one,"  he  says,  "  who  has  not  passed  through  the  ex- 
perience can  realize  the  agony  of  mind  of  one  in  the  process 
of  conversion.  The  ground  seems  slipping  from  his  feet, 
and  there  is  no  coign  of  vantage  for  him.  He  knows  his 
own  church,  but  he  is  ignorant  of  the  one  he  may  enter. 
Perhaps  he  may  not  be  any  better  satisfied  in  the  new  than 
in  the  old.  Why  venture  in  the  uncertainty?  Besides,  by 
leaving  his  own  church  a  person  cuts  loose  from  all  the  ties 
that  have  bound  him  to  relatives  and  friends,  and  is  thrown 
upon  the  possible  friendship  of  strangers.  Then  what  a  deep 
gulf  of  prejudices  is  opened  up,  and  one  that  may  be  unbridg- 
able !  How  much  to  hold  a  doubter  back,  and  what  to  draw 
him  on  to  take  the  crucial  step !  If,  after  the  step  is  taken,  he 
finds  out  his  mistake,  how  will  he  ever  have  the  courage  to 
acknowledge  it  and  retrace  his  steps?    Then,  too,  what  an 

132 


HIS  CONVERSION. 

audacious  thing  it  is  for  him  to  sit  in  judgment  on  what, 
until  then,  he  has  held  to  be  the  church  of  his  fathers.  Is  he 
wiser  than  they?  What  a  reflection  upon  their  judgment! 
What  was  good  enough  for  them  should  be  good  enough  for 
him.  Then  every  scandal  that  can  be  raked  up  is  brought 
forward  as  damning  proof  against  the  Catholic  Church.  As 
if,  forsooth,  the  violators  of  the  Church's  laws  could  be 
adduced  as  witnesses  against  the  laws.  Just  as  if  the  black 
sheep  of  the  flock  was  the  one  by  which  the  whole  flock 
should  be  judged." 

One  thing  was  certain ;  it  was  impossible  for  Van  Rens- 
selaer to  continue  to  act  as  minister  of  a  church  whose 
claims  to  be  the  Church  of  Christ  were  more  than  doubtful. 
He  therefore  resolved  to  lay  aside  his  charge.  His  rector, 
unable  to  convince  him,  begged  him  not  to  go  to  Rome  from 
his  church.  As  he  had  not  been  with  the  rector  long  enough 
to  make  any  impression  upon  the  congregation,  Van  Rens- 
selaer agreed  to  the  request. 

He  next  informed  his  mother  of  the  probable  necessity  of 
his  becoming  a  Catholic.  She  had  long  been  in  the  habit  of 
saying:  "You  had  better  go  where  you  belong";  but  of 
course  when  the  time  came  to  follow  her  advice,  she  felt  it 
keenly.  She  suggested  his  going  back  to  Oxford  to  see  his 
former  friends,  the  canons  and  professors.  He  was  nothing 
loath,  especially  if  it  would  give  her  satisfaction,  and  he 
explained  to  her  he  had  no  desire  at  all  to  go  over  to  Rome; 
quite  the  contrary,  he  had  no  friends  in  that  Church,  and 
nothing  in  it  appealed  to  him  except  the  truth  which  it 
seemed  to  possess  in  its  entirety.  So  to  Oxford  he  went. 
He  always  regretted  that  he  did  not  visit  Birmingham  to 
make  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Oratory  at  Edgbaston,  where 
Newman  was  living;  undoubtedly  the  life  and  writings  of 

133 


LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

the  Cardinal  had  much  effect  in  leading  him  to  the  light. 
The  "  Apologia  "  and  "  Anglican  Difficulties  "  cleared  the 
way,  which  Pusey's  "  Eirenicon  "  failed  to  obstruct  again. 

Henry's  first  visit  in  Oxford  was  to  Canon  King.  The 
Canon  received  him  as  of  yore,  most  cordially,  until  he 
learned  his  errand,  then  he  grew  sad.  Arguments  he  had 
none,  except  the  special  pleading:  "  Be  loyal  to  your 
Mother."  "  That,"  writes  Van  Rensselaer,  "  I  always  was; 
but  that  was  begging  the  question.  My  inquiry  was  about  the 
identity  of  my  Mother,  the  Church.  I  have  grave  doubts 
about  the  maternal  claims  of  the  Church  of  England  and  her 
offspring,  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United 
States.  As  the  good  Canon  said,  my  difficulties  were  his- 
torical, and  he  did  not  attempt  to  answer  them,  but  referred 
me  to  Canon  Bright,  my  former  professor  of  ecclesiastical 
history.  I  never  called  again  on  my  dear  old  friend,  Canon 
King,  as  I  saw  that  my  defection  grieved  him.  Since  then 
he  has  become  Anglican  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  and  has  had  his 
own  troubles  with  the  Court  of  Arches  for  ritualistic  prac- 
tices. Would  that  the  great  St.  Hugh  of  Lincoln  might  ob- 
tain for  the  nineteenth-century  Protestant  intruder  into  his 
ancient  see  the  gift  of  faith !  Imagine  St.  Hugh  being  tried 
by  a  secular  court  for  wearing  a  cope  and  mitre !  " 

He  next  turned  his  steps  to  Canon  Bright.  The  Canon 
was  one  of  the  lecturers  whose  courses  he  attended  during 
his  earlier  stay  at  the  great  English  university.  Van  Rensse- 
laer describes  him  as  a  very  nervous  and  eccentric  man, 
learned  but  not  entertaining.  "  I  never  fancied  him  and 
never  counted  him  among  my  friends  " ;  but  in  the  search 
for  truth,  personal  dislikes  were  repressed.  And  here  fol- 
lows an  account  of  the  visit  to  Canon  Bright : — 

"  Now  it  happened  that  just  at  that  time  a  controversy 

134 


HIS  CONVERSION. 

was  being  waged  over  a  book  called  '  The  Priest  and  Abso- 
lution.' It  was  in  reality  an  English  translation  of  a  Latin 
manual  of  moral  theology,  and  intended  by  the  translators 
for  the  use  of  '  Anglo-Catholic  '  priests  (  ?).  A  low-church 
peer,  Earl  Redesdale,  had  produced  this  book  in  the  House 
of  Lords  and  treated  his  confreres  to  choice  selections  from 
the  chapters  concerning  the  commandment  which  is  the 
Catholic  sixth,  but  the  Protestant  seventh.  '  Such  are  the 
matters/  quoth  the  Earl,  '  which  the  parsons,  now  dubbed 
priests,  discuss  with  your  wives  and  daughters.'  Of  course 
the  insinuation  was  manifestly  unfair.  He  might  as  well 
have  brought  in  a  medical  book  and  have  read  passages, 
with  the  comment  that  such  were  the  matters  that  doctors 
discuss  with  their  patients.  Nevertheless  the  shot  hit  the 
mark,  and  when  the  question  of  confession  and  absolution 
was  put  to  the  vote  of  the  bishops  in  England,  they  promptly 
disclaimed  the  doctrine  and  the  practice.  At  this  juncture 
I  called  on  Canon  Bright  and  asked  how  he  accounted  for 
the  action  of  the  bishops.  He  answered  that  if  he  wanted 
to  know  anything  about  the  sea,  he  would  not  apply  for 
information  to  a  landsman.  I  admitted  his  wisdom  in  this, 
but  failed  to  see  the  application.  He  then  explained  that 
the  bishops  knew  nothing  about  confession.  '  That's  strange,' 
I  said.  '  If  the  so-called  priests  of  the  Church  of  England 
have  any  power  to  forgive  sins,  it  must  come  from  the 
bishops.  How,  then,  can  it  be  that  the  bishops  do  not 
recognize  any  such  power  resident  in  them?  '  '  Oh/  said  the 
Canon,  '  the  Church  of  England  is  in  a  topsy-turvy  condi- 
tion.' 'Do  you  admit  that?'  I  asked.  'Of  course  I  do/ 
he  replied.  '  Then  she  cannot  be  the  Church  of  God,'  I 
answered.  '  For  though  the  Church  may  contain  disorderly 
persons  in  her  borders,  she  cannot  herself  be  in  a  state  of 

135 


LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

disorder,  especially  in  essential  teachings,  such  as  the  for- 
giveness of  sins.'  So,  far  from  holding  me  back,  the  Canon 
only  helped  to  drive  me  out  of  the  fold,  which  was  becoming 
more  and  more  evidently  that  of  the  hireling  and  not  of 
the  Good  Shepherd." 

The  visit  to  Oxford,  then,  had  not  strengthened  the  Angli- 
can position.  Still  Van  Rensselaer  was  loath  to  leave  the 
Anglican  Church  without  making  one  more  effort  to  clear 
up  his  difficulties,  so  he  next  turned  to  his  old  friend,  Canon 
Liddon,  then  in  residence  in  Amen  Corner,  London,  where 
the  Canons  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  lived. 

"  The  Canon,"  he  tells  us,  "  was  very  friendly  and  lis- 
tened patiently.  It  was  not  a  new  story  for  him.  As  he 
admitted,  he  had  often  travelled  the  same  road  himself. 
But,  as  he  asserted,  he  always  managed  to  steady  his  waver- 
ing steps  by  reading  the  works  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church. 
What  would  he  advise  me  to  do  ?  Read  two  books,  one  on 
either  side,  treating  the  same  texts  of  Scripture  and  quota- 
tions from  the  Fathers,  and  then  decide  for  myself  which 
was  the  correct  interpreter.  Was  not  this  true  Protestant 
theory  and  practice  of  the  right  of  private  judgment?  If 
he  were  a  Catholic  priest,  would  he  give  such  advice? 
Fancy  a  young  man  going  to  a  priest  and  telling  him  that 
he  was  in  doubt  about  his  faith.  Would  the  priest  tell  him 
to  read  Ingersoll  and  Lambert  and  then  decide  for  him- 
self ?  Would  he  not  be  bound  to  give  reasons  for  his  faith, 
refute  the  sophisms  and  bid  the  young  man  avoid  reading 
poisonous  literature,  and  strengthen  his  faith  by  sound 
books,  prayer  and  reception  of  the  Sacraments  of  Penance 
and  Holy  Eucharist?  Such  was  not  the  method  of  Canon 
Liddon,  but  he  threw  me  back  on  my  own  private  judgment. 
What  two  books  would  he  advise  me  to  read?     Hessey's 

136 


HIS  CONVERSION. 

1  Rise  of  the  Papal  Power,'  on  the  Protestant,  and  Allies' 
'  See  of  Peter,'  on  the  Catholic  side.  I  had  already  read 
them  both.  However,  perhaps  I  had  not  pondered  them 
sufficiently,  for  I  had  to  admit  that  Allies  seemed  to  be  the 
genuine  expounder  of  the  texts  of  Scripture  and  the  Fathers. 
Canon  Liddon  had,  I  afterward  learned,  and  as  he  himself 
had  hinted,  often  been  on  the  verge  of  submitting  to  the 
authority  of  Rome,  and  had  even  consulted  Catholic  priests 
about  it.  Did  the  possession  of  a  Canonry  of  St.  Paul's 
and  a  professor's  chair  in  Oxford  weigh  down  the  scale  on 
the  Anglican  side?  I  did  not  call  again;  what  was  the  use? 
It  would  be  a  case  of  the  blind  leading  the  blind." 

It  should  be  stated  here  that  Henry  had  already  looked  up 
and  settled  to  his  satisfaction  certain  matters  of  prime  im- 
portance. On  a  visit  to  the  Bodleian  Library,  before  meet- 
ing Dr.  King,  he  recalled  the  difficulty  of  papal  infallibility 
which  Dr.  Dollinger  adduced  as  a  reason  for  rejecting  the 
authority  of  the  Vatican  Council.  He  says  :  "  I  turned  to  the 
chapter  on  '  Papal  Supremacy '  in  the  '  Church  History,' 
published  by  the  said  Dr.  Dollinger  in  1845,  that  is,  twenty- 
five  years  before  the  definition  of  Papal  Infallibility  in  the 
Council  of  the  Vatican,  in  1870.  My  reading  of  this  chap- 
ter convinced  me  of  true  Papal  supremacy,  which  would,  of 
course,  include  infallibility.  Another  point  was  cleared  up 
regarding  the  early  Church,  by  reading  Hefele's  '  History  of 
the  Councils,'  which,  to  be  sure,  contained  the  ecumenical 
letters.  I  was  startled  to  find  that  these  councils  of  the 
much-referred-to  undivided  Church  of  the  first  four  cen- 
turies, in  their  synodal  letters,  spoke  of  the  occupant  of  the 
See  of  Rome,  precisely  as  the  Church  of  after-centuries,  up  to 
the  present  day  addresses  the  Pope,  successor  of  St.  Peter, 
Prince  of  the  Apostles,  Vicar  of  Christ  on  Earth.     At  the 

137 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

Protestant  seminary  in  New  York,  we  had  used  as  a  text- 
book an  Index  Canonum  of  these  very  councils,  but  the  com- 
piler had  very  wisely,  from  his  point  of  view,  omitted  the 
ecumenical  letters.  The  discovery  of  their  existence  was  a 
revelation  and  a  shock.  The  stronghold  of  Protestantism 
had  crumbled  at  its  foundation." 

Van  Rensselaer  still  had  many  difficulties  in  regard  to  the 
Catholic  Church.  Many  of  her  doctrines  were  not  clear  to 
his  mind,  and  many  of  her  devotions  did  not  appeal  to  his 
taste.  But,  if  Christ  had  built  his  Church  on  Peter,  the 
rock  against  which  the  gates  of  hell  should  not  prevail,  had 
given  him  the  keys  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  had  prom- 
ised to  be  with  him  always  to  the  end  of  the  world,  and  had 
bestowed  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  to  guide  His 
Church  into  all  truth,  then  he  felt  convinced  that  whatever 
this  Church  taught  must  be  true  and  should  be  accepted  by 
all.  The  identity  of  the  true  Church  was  no  longer  doubtful. 
Submission  to  authority  was  the  only  course  open  to  him. 
It  was  an  intellectual  conviction,  without  any  sensible 
attraction. 

The  following  letter  to  one  of  the  family,  written  two 
weeks  before  his  formal  reception  into  the  Church,  sums  up 
tersely  the  visit  to  Oxford  and  its  result : 

"  Paris, 

"  September  4,  1877. 

"  I  have  not  written  for  some  time  because  I  have  been, 
and  am,  too  unhappy  to  want  to  put  my  feelings  on  paper. 
Dr.  King  was  entirely  unable  to  help  me,  and  not  being  well 
up  on  the  Roman  side,  he  could  not  command  that  respect  for 

138 


HIS  CONVERSION. 

h:.s  opinion  which  he  otherwise  would  have.  His  argument 
is  exactly  Keble's :  Born  in  the  Anglican  Communion,  stay 
there.  Why  not  equally  well  say :  Born  in  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  stay  there? 

"  While  I  was  in  Oxford  before  Dr.  King  came,  I  ob- 
tained access  to  a  library  there,  and  read  Dollinger's 
History,  which  convinced  me  that  his  present  position  as  a 
schismatic  is  untenable  from  his  own  book,  which,  unlike 
those  written  by  Anglicans  who  'verted,  has  never  been  re- 
tracted, but  still  holds  its  position  as  true  history.  I  also 
read  Cardinal  Manning's  '  True  History  of  the  Vatican 
Council,'  which  gives  one  a  very  different  idea  from  the 
one  usually  entertained  in  regard  to  Infallibility.  It  was 
quite  strange  that  the  day  I  went  by  appointment  to  see  Dr. 
King  I  was  kept  waiting  in  the  dining-room  and  picked 
up  Macaulay's  History  and  read  the  preface.  His  account 
of  the  formation  of  the  Church  of  England  by  Elizabeth 
was  startling  and  an  ill  preparation  for  my  first  talk  with 
the  Doctor  upon  the  position  and  claim  of  the  Church  of 
England. 

"  Dr.  Bright,  to  whom  I  spoke  for  only  a  moment,  said 
he  thought  the  present  state  of  the  Church  to  be  anomalous. 
Is  it  possible  that  Almighty  God  has  revealed  doctrines 
such  as  the  Real  Presence  and  Confession,  and  yet  it  can 
be  a  matter  of  no  importance  whether  a  professing  church- 
man believe  them  or  not?  St.  Paul  speaks  very  plainly  of 
the  necessity  of  the  trumpet  giving  a  distinct  sound. 

"  But  you  must  read  and  decide  for  yourself,  which  is 
exactly  the  advice  given  me  by  Dr.  Liddon.  I  had  several 
interviews  with  him,  and  he  was  very  good  and  kind 
and,  of  course,  what  such  a  man  says  cannot  but  command 
respect.     I  had  already  read  the  books  he  recommended, 

139 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

but  began  to  study  Hefele's  '  History  of  the  Councils/ 
finding  him  very  strong  on  the  Roman  side.  Both  Dr. 
Liddon  and  Dr.  Bright  say  that  he  is  very  reliable.  The 
attitude  of  the  Council  of  Chalcedon  towards  the  Pope, 
Leo,  is  exactly  what  one  would  expect  from  the  stand- 
point of  Rome,  and  entirely  goes  against  the  Anglican  posi- 
tion. 

"  Well,  Dr.  Liddon  could  not  satisfy  me  at  all,  and,  as 
you  already  know  by  my  letter  to  mother,  I  have  decided 
to  become  a  Catholic  in  deed  and  not  only  in  intention, 
and  so  has  Mackall,  and  so  has  E.  It  is  useless  to  wait 
unless  I  am  to  become  cold  and  indifferent,  for  my  mind 
is  thoroughly  made  up  on  good,  strong,  sensible,  intellectual 
grounds. 

"  Your  devoted  brother. 

"  Henry." 


The  collapse  of  the  appeal  to  Canon  Liddon,  and  sub- 
sequent readings  on  the  subject,  seem  to  have  definitely 
settled  for  Van  Rensselaer  the  question  he  had  so  long  and 
so  perseveringly  sought  to  solve.  There  could  no  longer 
be  any  doubt  as  to  which  was  the  true  Church  of  Christ. 
It  was  now  high  time  to  turn  to  the  Church  of  Rome.  Up 
to  this  point  his  progress  had  been  slow  enough,  nor  had  he 
tried  to  free  himself  from  Anglican  influences.  While  he  was 
studying  the  question,  he  had  conscientiously  abstained  from 
going  inside  a  Catholic  Church  or  speaking  to  a  Catholic 
priest.  He  had  frequented  the  ultra-ritualistic  churches,  and 
in  them  he  had  seen  the  ceremonies  of  the  Catholic  Church 
carried  out  exactly.     Externally  the  imitation  was  perfect. 

140 


HIS  CONVERSION. 

The  altar  with  its  appointments,  the  ministers  in  colored 
silken  vestments,  the  music  and  incense,  all  was  there  as  in 
the  true  Church,  but  it  was  "  Hamlet "  with  the  Prince  left 
out.  The  Real  Presence  of  Christ  was  not  there.  The  es- 
sential lack  became  so  oppressive  to  him  that  he  resolved 
never  again  to  be  present  at  such  hollow  mockeries,  as  they 
now  seemed  to  be.     He  declares  : — 

"  Protestant  England  had  become  so  distasteful  to  me 
that  I  longed  to  be  in  a  Catholic  country.  Before  leaving 
London,  we  called,  my  friend  and  I,  at  the  Brompton  Ora- 
tory and  were  warmly  received.  The  priest  whom  we  saw 
was  anxious  to  have  us  make  our  abjuration  of  errors  and 
profession  of  faith  then  and  there.  He  said  that  he  would 
not  dare  to  cross  the  channel  in  our  frame  of  mind.  We  an- 
swered that  having  dared  the  dangers  of  the  Atlantic  we 
thought  we  could  risk  the  English  Channel,  as  our  intention 
then  was  to  make  our  submission  in  Rome  itself/' 

In  the  meantime,  his  sister,  who  had  preceded  him  in 
England,  was  also  fully  convinced  of  the  untenableness  of  the 
Anglican  position.  She  had  come  by  strict  orders  of  her 
director,  who  had  also  been  his,  to  join  the  All  Saints' 
Sisterhood  in  Margaret  street,  London.  There  she  was 
nurtured  on  purely  Catholic  literature — lives  of  the  saints, 
and  spiritual  books  of  Roman,  not  Anglican,  authors.  They 
kept  the  feast  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  among  others  purely 
Roman.  The  Reverend  Mother  was  in  the  habit  of  going 
to  Paris  to  keep  the  feasts  of  the  Immaculate  Conception 
and  the  Assumption  of  the  Blessed  Virgin.  When  his  sister 
stated  her  difficulties  to  her  London  confessor,  he  parried 
them  by  saying  that  it  was  well  to  have  two  strings  to  one's 
bow,  and  that  if  the  Anglican  were  wrong  the  Greek  might 
be  right.     When  she  remarked  that  her  brother,  who  was  a 

141 


LIKE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAEK 

minister,  and  his  friend,  also  a  minister,  were  troubled  in 
the  same  way  as  herself,  he  only  sneered  at  their  youth.  She 
soon  decided  that  she  could  not  persevere  in  Anglicanism, 
though  she  was  unable  to  leave  the  Sisters  just  then,  as  there 
was  no  one  to  fill  her  position.  So  she  remained  a  couple  of 
weeks  after  her  brother  had  left  for  Paris,  and  at  the  expira- 
tion of  her  time  of  warning  to  the  Sisters,  joined  him  and 
his  friend  there. 

In  view  of  his  subsequent  career  it  is  strange  that  his  first 
meeting  with  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  was  not 
auspicious.     The  circumstances  were  as  follows : — 

"  We  had  determined  to  be  received  into  the  Church  in 
Rome  itself.  Thinking  that  we  should  enjoy  our  stay  in 
Paris  and  our  journey  through  France  and  Italy  more  as 
Catholics,  we  resolved  to  take  the  important  step  in  Paris. 
My  sister  and  my  friend  were  admirers  of  the  Jesuits,  which 
admiration  I  did  not  share.  They  accordingly  paid  a  visit 
to  the  Jesuit  house  in  the  Rue  de  Sevres  and  made  arrange- 
ments for  our  reception.  I  noticed  that  they  were  not  nearly 
so  enthusiastic  after  their  visit,  and  they  discreetly  said 
little  about  it.  My  friend  had  arranged  that  he  and  I 
should  make  a  preparatory  retreat  of  three  days  under  a 
Jesuit  Father's  direction.  The  first  day  came  for  our  in- 
struction. I  had  forebodings.  Our  instructor  had  neu- 
ralgia and  a  much  swollen  face.  He  was  not  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  wily  Jesuit  at  all.  He  began  by  informing 
us  we  knew  nothing.  As  he  had  not  examined  us,  I  felt  he 
was  not  qualified  to  give  the  verdict.  He  insisted  on  in- 
structing us.  According  to  him  we  did  not  understand  In- 
fallibility. I  insisted  that  we  did.  We  had  studied  the  au- 
thorized exponent's  book,  and  Dr.  Fessler  was  the  best 
authoritv  on  the  matter.     The  Rev.  Jesuit  pooh-poohed  him 

142 


HIS  CONVERSION. 

and  said  he  would  enlighten  us.  I  replied  that  he  was  los- 
ing time.  He  was  sure  we  had  difficulties.  We  were  sure 
we  had  none.  The  visit  was  unsatisfactory,  and  when  we 
got  out  of  the  house  I  declared  that  the  others  might  do  as 
they  pleased,  but  that  I  would  not  repeat  the  visit,  and  the 
retreat  could  be  called  off.  I  wished  to  have  my  coming  into 
the  Church  a  pleasant  memory,  which  under  such  auspices 
was  impossible.  My  companions  seemed  nothing  loath  to 
follow  my  example,  although  we  had  committed  ourselves 
with  the  Jesuit.  I  said  it  was  a  simple  thing  to  write  to  him 
that  we  had  changed  our  plan;  foolishly,  perhaps,  I  added 
that  we  preferred  to  go  to  one  who  was  accustomed  to  deal 
with  Anglican  converts  and  could  understand  them.  That 
same  day  his  answer  came  in  shape  of  a  pamphlet  written 
by  him  on  Anglicanism." 

The  retreat  was  thus  abruptly  brought  to  an  end.  It  was 
an  awkward  way  out  of  an  awkward  situation,  which  might 
have  been  easily  relieved  by  some  display  of  tact  on  either 
side.  The  next  step  was  to  find  some  one  to  take  the  would- 
be  converts  in  hand.  They  had  brought  letters  to  a  dear  old 
English  priest,  Mgr.  Rogerson,  who  had  a  confessional  for 
English-speaking  people  in  the  Church  of  St.  Roch,  so  they 
presented  their  letters  to  him  and  were  welcomed  in  a  truly 
fatherly  way.  They  felt  at  home  with  him  at  once.  He 
told  them  that  their  experience  had  been  that  of  many  others, 
who,  like  themselves,  had  ended  by  coming  to  him.  He  ex- 
amined them  a  little,  saw  that  they  knew  what  they  were 
doing,  and  then,  on  the  17th  of  September,  1877,  received 
their  abjuration  and  profession  of  faith,  and  baptized  them 
conditionally  in  the  Church  of  St.  Roch. 

The  narrative  of  those  early  days  spent  as  a  Catholic  be- 
comes of  increasing  interest  as  it  tells  of  the  efforts  made  to 

143 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

overcome  life-long  prejudices  in  accepting  without  question- 
ing the  devout  practices  so  common  in  Catholic  countries, 
but  which  usually  repel  the  new  convert.  With  his  usual 
candor  he  informs  us : — 

"  As  Protestants  we  had  many  prejudices  against  certain 
practices  in  the  Catholic  Church.  Among  other  things,  we 
disliked  very  much  to  see  old  women  selling  candles  in  the 
churches  to  be  burned  before  the  statues.  Having  become 
Catholics,  we  determined  not  to  do  things  by  halves.  If 
the  Church  approves  of  these  practices,  they  must  be  right, 
whether  they  appealed  to  us  or  not.  So,  when  we  were  pass- 
ing out  of  the  Chapel  of  the  Calvary,  where  we  had  been 
received,  we  stopped  at  the  grotto  representing  the  Holy 
Sepulchre  with  the  dead  Christ  and  lighted  candles,  which 
we  purchased  from  our  quondam  aversion — the  old  dame 
who  sold  candles." 

On  the  feast  of  St.  Matthew  they  made  their  First  Com- 
munion in  the  Chapel  of  the  Convent  of  the  Sacred  Heart 
in  the  Rue  de  Varennes.  The  Mass  was  said  by  their  good 
old  friend  in  need,  Mgr.  Rogerson,  who  did  much  during 
their  stay  in  Paris  to  make  them  feel  at  home  in  their  new 
religious  surroundings. 


144 


CHAPTER    IX. 

A  Catholic. 

tunY  the  help  of  my  God  have  I  leaped  over  the  wall' 
D  And  what  a  wall  it  was !  A  wall  that  has  proved 
an  impassable  barrier  to  millions !  This  was  the  wall  laid 
by  the  leaders  of  the  great  revolt  against  the  Church  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  and  raised  higher  and  higher  in  succeeding 
centuries  by  the  accumulation  of  false  accusations  and 
prejudices.  By  the  powerful  help  of  God  alone  can  one  have 
strength  to  leap  over  this  wall.  And  the  leap  supposes  a 
combined  action  of  man's  mind  and  will  with  the  grace  of 
God.  A  leap  it  is,  and,  owing  to  the  nature  of  faith,  it  seems 
to  be  a  leap  in  the  dark.  For  there  is  always  a  latent  appre- 
hension that  perhaps  the  action  may  be  a  mistake." 

Such  are  the  words  with  which  Van  Rensselaer  gratefully 
acknowledges  that  only  through  God's  grace  could  he  have 
threaded  the  labyrinth  of  error  and  have  found  his  way  to 
the  Church,  the  pillar  and  ground  of  truth. 

Naturally  enough,  he  thought  he  would  visit  Rome  and 
tender  his  submission  to  the  Vicar  of  Christ.  How  different 
his  sentiments  now  from  those  which  animated  him  on  a 
previous  visit!  Still  it  was  with  no  little  difficulty  he  ad- 
justed himself  to  some  of  the  popular  observances  of  his 
new  faith.  His  narrative  continues :  "  Being  now  quite 
Catholicized,  we  set  our  faces  Romeward  to  visit  the  centre 
of  unity  and  the  Vicar  of  Christ  on  earth.     The  saintlv 

145 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

Pius  IX  sat  in  the  chair  of  Peter.  His  long  reign  was 
nearing  its  close,  and  he  was  then  rather  feeble.  At  our 
audience  he  had  to  be  borne  into  the  hall  on  a  portable 
chair.  He  was  surrounded  by  a  brilliant  retinue  of  cardi- 
nals, monsignori,  and  other  attendants  in  bright  uniforms. 
He  was  very  benevolent  and  gracious.  He  gave  us  a  special 
blessing  on  hearing  that  we  were  converts  and  bade  us  to  go 
back  to  America  to  spread  the  faith.  We  have  tried  to 
carry  out  his  injunction. 

"  I  recall  an  incident  in  the  Vatican.  The  first  time  we 
visited  the  great  basilica  we  knew  the  correct  thing  to  do 
was  to  kiss  the  foot  of  the  bronze  statue  of  St.  Peter,  which 
unbelieving  Protestants  claim  to  be  a  converted  image  of 
Jupiter  Tonans.  Our  Protestant  prejudices  revived  for  a 
moment,  and  we  passed  it  by  unkissed.  After  going  around 
for  some  time,  I  made  a  dart  at  the  statue,  conquered  my 
antipathy,  and  kissed  the  foot.  Thenceforth  we  had  no 
difficulty  in  kissing,  after  the  manner  of  the  Italians,  pic- 
tures, statues,  and  all  other  objects  of  devotion. 

"  My  friend  and  I  thought  of  remaining  in  Rome  to  make 
our  studies  for  the  priesthood,  as  we  had  no  doubt  of  our 
vocation  to  the  altar.  But  we  could  not  well  leave  my 
sister  alone  so  far  from  home,  so  we  decided  to  return  to 
Paris  after  we  had  seen  the  sights  of  Rome.  We 
journeyed  thither  by  easy  stages.  My  sister  went  en 
pension  to  the  Convent  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  while  we  took 
up  our  residence  at  the  French  Oratory  in  the  Rue  de 
Regard." 

Hearing  that  Cardinal  Manning  was  passing  through 
Paris,  the  traveller  called  on  him,  in  hopes  that  he  would 
administer  to  them  the  Sacrament  of  Confirmation.  But 
this  necessitated  permission   from   Cardinal   Guibert,   then 

146 


A  CATHOLIC. 

Archbishop  of  Paris,  and  other  formalities,  so  they  had  to 
forego  the  privilege.  Shortly  after,  they  were  confirmed  by 
the  Coadjutor  Archbishop,  Mgr.  Richard. 

"  Cardinal  Manning,"  he  writes,  "  was  very  cordial  and 
gave  us  each  a  copy  of  one  of  his  celebrated  books  on  the 
Mission  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  He  made  a  deep  impression  on 
us  by  his  austere  appearance.  The  newspapers  were  then 
making  much  of  his  championing  the  total  abstinence  move- 
ment in  England,  not  only  by  word  but  by  example.  This 
latter  meant  much,  for  the  aged  Cardinal  had,  like  most 
Englishmen,  been  accustomed  all  his  life  to  take  his  wine. 
His  doctor  forbade  him  to  abstain,  and  told  him  it  would 
shorten  his  life,  but  his  indomitable  will  triumphed." 

Van  Rensselaer  was  not  satisfied  with  the  reception  of  the 
Sacraments  of  Baptism  and  Confirmation.  He  had  already 
cast  his  lot  in  the  service  of  the  Church,  and  he  was  anxious 
to  take  the  first  steps  towards  entering  the  clerical  life.  An- 
other Cardinal  came  to  Paris  on  his  way  to  Rome.  It  was 
our  own  first  American  Cardinal,  the  venerable  Archbishop 
McCloskey.  Van  Rensselaer  took  advantage  of  his  pres- 
ence there  to  receive  the  tonsure  and  then,  with  a  view  to  pre- 
paring for  the  priesthood,  took  up  his  theological  studies  in 
Paris,  with  the  Fathers  of  Oratory.  Of  this  period  of  his 
life  he  tells  us  : — 

"  My  friend  and  I  undertook  to  study  theology  under  one 
of  the  Oratorian  Fathers,  but  our  work  was,  to  say  the  least, 
desultory.  We  were  determined  to  acquire  the  Catholic 
spirit,  and  to  this  end  we  attended  all  the  religious  func- 
tions we  could,  and  they  were  many.  The  services  at  Notre 
Dame  had  especial  attractions  for  us,  and  there  we  saw  for 
the  first  time  the  impressive  ceremonies  of  Holy  Week. 
What  struck  us  as  strange  was  the  easy-going  behavior 

147 


LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN    RENSSELAER 

of  the  people  in  the  churches.  They  seemed  perfectly  at 
home  in  what  they  rightly  considered  their  Father's  house. 
This  was  quite  noticeable  at  Vespers  in  Notre  Dame.  While 
the  Canons  and  choristers  chanted  the  Psalms  in  the  choir, 
the  faithful  of  both  sexes  would  saunter  leisurely  in 
the  aisles  outside  the  choir,  joining  in  the  Psalms,  which 
they  knew  by  heart.  French  boys  have  singularly  beautiful 
voices,  and,  as  at  Notre  Dame  they  have  a  '  maitrise,'  or 
choir  school,  in  which  the  boys  live  and  receive  their  educa- 
tion, intellectual  and  musical,  they  are  properly  nurtured 
and  guarded  from  injuring  their  voices  by  shouting  in  the 
streets.  One  of  the  great  privileges  of  the  year  was  our 
attendance  at  the  Lenten  Conferences  of  the  Dominican, 
Monsabre.  It  was  a  grand  sight  to  see  the  immense  nave 
of  Notre  Dame  filled  with  men,  old  and  young,  who  listened 
in  rapt  attention  to  the  eloquent  words  of  the  preacher.  The 
closing  retreat  in  Holy  Week,  with  the  general  Communion 
for  men,  was  very  edifying  and  inspiring." 

A   more   minute  account   of   his   stay  with   the   French 
Oratorians  is  given  in  the  following  letter : — 


"  L'Oratoire,  Paris, 

"  December,  1877. 

"  Who  would  have  believed  a  year  ago  that  I  should  be 
here  and  my  fidus  Achates  with  me,  and  yet  it  seems  so 
natural  to  be  a  Catholic  that  I  don't  feel  at  all  like  a  stranger, 
but  quite  au  fait  and  to  the  manner  born.  I  am  perfectly 
happy,  except  in  being  so  far  away  from  home;  still  there 
is  a  great  advantage  in  being  out  of  the  reach  of  controversy 

148 


A  CATHOLIC. 

and  free  to  become  accustomed  to  one's  position  in  peace  and 
quiet,  and  in  a  country  which  is  Catholic  in  so  far  as  it  is 
religious  at  all,  for  Protestantism  has  no  hold  here. 

"  We  do  not  go  out  for  lectures.  I  believe  one  learns 
more  by  studying  than  by  hearing  courses.  One  of  the 
Fathers,  a  Doctor  in  Theology,  superintends  our  studies  and 
explains  any  difficulties  we  may  meet  with.  We  are  treated 
with  the  greatest  kindness  by  everyone.  You  should  see 
us  in  the  street  in  our  clerical  costume — great,  low,  broad- 
brimmed  hats,  caught  up  on  each  side;  long  coats,  dou- 
illetes,  black  stockings  and  knee  breeches,  and  me,  minus  my 
beard,  which  I  regret  only  on  account  of  the  trouble  of 
shaving. 

"  We  went  to  a  grand  service  at  Notre  Dame  last  Tuesday 
night.  It  was  the  close  of  the  forty  hours'  adoration  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament.  The  adoration  goes  on  uninterruptedly 
in  the  churches  of  Paris  and  the  vicinity,  opening  in  one 
as  it  is  closed  in  another.  The  year  is  always  begun  at  the 
Cathedral.  On  Tuesday  evening  there  was  a  magnificent 
procession.  The  Host  was  carried  by  the  Coadjutor,  Arch- 
bishop Richard,  followed  by  the  Cardinal  Archbishop,  the 
Canons,  numbers  of  clergy  and  acolytes,  many  choristers 
in  red,  and  at  least  three  thousand  men,  everyone  in  the 
procession  carrying  a  lighted  candle.  Imagine  the  effect  in 
Notre  Dame  at  night,  the  high  altar  blazing  with  lights  and 
the  huge  procession  with  its  flickering  tapers.  Only  men 
took  part,  with  the  exception  of  the  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Sis- 
ters who  work  in  the  parish,  and  who  were  permitted  to  join. 
To  see  all  those  men  kneel  down  as  their  Lord  passed  by  was 
a  sight  I  shall  never  forget. 

"  We  are  still  devoted  to  St.  Roch's,  where  we  feel  very 
much  at  home,  and  where  the  singing  is  delightful.     We 

149 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

generally  go  to  the  Jesuit  Chapel  in  the  Rue  de  Sevres  for 
Benediction  on  Sunday  afternoon. 

"  I  always  think  of  Baby  May  when  they  have  the  '  pain 
benit '  at  Mass.  It  is  a  relic  of  a  most  ancient  custom,  the 
love-feast.  In  the  churches  of  France,  just  before  the  con- 
secration, a  little  procession  goes  up  to  the  altar — a  beadle, 
followed  by  a  dear  little  girl  like  May,  dressed  in  white  and 
blue,  with  a  lighted  candle,  then  two  boys  in  red,  carrying 
on  their  shoulders  a  tray  with  a  large  round  loaf  of  sweet- 
ened bread  surrounded  by  candles.  The  bread  is  given  by 
some  parishioner  and  they  generally  send  a  little  girl  of 
the  family  to  make  the  offering.  After  the  bread  has  been 
blessed,  the  procession  goes  out  in  the  same  order,  and  later 
on  in  the  service  the  boys  hand  round  the  bread  in  baskets. 
The  custom  is  retained  in  France  only,  but  is,  I  think,  very 
beautiful." 

His  stay  at  the  Oratory  with  the  new  manner  of  life  it 
involved,  seems  not  to  have  repressed  his  youthful  gaiety 
or  to  have  in  any  way  affected  his  sense  of  humor.  Thus 
he  writes  to  one  of  his  sisters : 

"  L'Oratoire,  Paris. 

"  March  15,  1878. 
"  My  Dear  Bessie  : 

"  You  see  I  have  yielded  to  your  polite  request  and  been 
photographed.  Phema  and  I  prefer  the  sitting  pose,  but  the 
other  is  the  favorite.  How  do  you  like  the  costume  of  an 
abbe  ?  I  am  sorry  I  could  not  show  my  black  stockings  and 
shoe  buckles,  but  when  the  "lady"  in  attendance  at  Le 

150 


A  CATHOLIC. 

Jeune's  asked  me  what  style  I  wished,  and  showed  me  sam- 
ples, I  suggested  tentatively  that  perhaps  full  length  would 
be  '  un  peu  trop  long.'  She  seemed  entirely  of  my  '  avis,' 
as  there  may  be  too  much  of  a  good  person  as  well  as  too 
much  of  a  good  thing.  I  modestly  tried  to  hide  my  hands 
but  the  '  poser '  insisted  upon  their  being  visible,  as  he 
assured  me  they  wouldn't  look  very  badly;  at  any  rate  it 
would  never  do  to  be  taken  unarmed — but  enough  of  myself. 
"  I  have  been,  and  am,  reading  Montalembert's  St.  Eliza- 
beth. It  is  absurd  and  needless  to  comment  upon  it,  as  its 
reputation  is  world-wide.  You  must  certainly  read  it  and 
retract  the  accusation  against  her,  who  is  known  and  ever 
was  known  in  Catholic  Germany,  as  '  die  liebe  heilige  Elisa- 
beth.' She  is  a  most  exquisite  character,  as  you  will  readily 
acknowledge  when  you  read  her  life.  That  little  affair  of 
the  roses  comes  out  most  beautifully.  Her  husband  was  a 
most  saintly  young  man;  he  died  at  twenty-seven.  They 
were  the  most  devoted  couple  imaginable.  I  advise  you  to 
find  that  little  picture  of  la  chere  saint e,  which  I  brought  you 
two  years  ago,  and  you  rejected.  The  preface  gives  a  most 
interesting  survey  of  the  13th  Century,  supposed  by  some 
people  to  be  the  Dark  Ages.  You  will  get  quite  another  idea, 
I  imagine.  We  went  to  Notre  Dame  on  Sunday  for  the 
Conference.  Monsabre  is  splendid ;  the  nave  was  full  of 
men,  two  or  three  thousand.  We  sat  with  the  Archbishop 
and  clergy  and  had  excellent  seats  opposite  the  pulpit.  The 
white  frock  and  black  coat  of  the  Frere  Precheur  add  greatly 
to  the  effect  of  the  orator.  He  is  very  eloquent.  The  sub- 
ject was  the  God-Man  as  proved  by  facts ;  the  whole  series 
is  upon  the  Incarnation.  It  lasted  an  hour,  but  did  not  seem 
too  long.  His  gestures  are  magnificent.  He  is  middle-aged, 
rather  fat,  not  handsome,  perhaps  a  little  too  witty,  as  he 

151 


LIFE  OF  HENRY    VAN    RENSSELAER 

made  an  occasional  hit.  The  Dominicans  are  very  strong  in 
Paris  and  have  a  great  many  pulpits  at  their  disposal.  I 
know  Pere  Chocarne  and  admire  him  very  much.  He  is 
not,  they  say,  fort,  as  a  preacher,  but  a  very  spiritual  man, 
with  a  beautiful  expression.  But  I  have  to  go  out,  so  must 
close. 

"  Your  affectionate  brother, 

"  Henry  Van  Rensselaer/' 


An  interesting  disclosure  of  Van  Rensselaer's  letters  from 
Oxford  is  that  of  a  longing  on  his  part  to  lead  the  life  of  a 
religious.  So  great  had  been  this  desire  that,  had  his  belief 
in  the  Branch  theory  remained  unshaken,  he  would  in  all 
likelihood  have  established  in  New  York  some  religious 
brotherhood  whose  chief  duty  would  be  to  labor  among  the 
poor  in  the  congested  districts  of  the  lower  East  Side.  It 
is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  after  becoming  a  Catholic 
the  thought  of  a  religious  vocation  was  still  uppermost.  Of 
his  call  to  the  priesthood  he  had  never  a  doubt,  but  the 
further  question  of  joining  a  religious  community  had  to  be 
decided.  The  experience  with  the  Jesuit  in  Paris  was  not 
likely  to  lead  him  to  become  a  member  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus.  It  was  no  easy  matter  for  him  to  make  up  his 
mind  as  to  what  other  religious  order  he  would  choose.  The 
Oratorians  in  France,  as  well  as  in  England,  the  Domini- 
cans, the  White  Fathers  of  the  African  Mission,  were  all  in 
their  turn  considered.  These  experiences  should  be  told 
in  his  own  words. 

"  My  friend  and  I  received  some  very  wholesome  but 
unpalatable  advice   from   an   Ajnerican   Bishop  whom   wc 

152 


A  CATHOLIC. 

visited  during  his  stay  in  Paris.  His  keen  and  experienced 
eye  detected  the  weak  points  in  our  religious  composition. 
He  told  us,  that  in  his  judgment  we  needed  to  go  through 
the  mill,  be  ground  fine,  and  made  over.  As  his  advice  was 
unsought  by  us,  it  was  decidedly  unacceptable;  we  had 
quite  a  different  opinion  of  ourselves  at  the  time.  After 
years  made  us  see  that  his  verdict  was  correct.  In  many 
respects  the  old  leaven  of  Protestantism  was  still  working 
in  us,  and  time  was  required  for  the  effect  of  the  new  leaven 
on  the  mass.  I  had  long  felt  drawn  to  the  religious  life,  even 
as  a  Protestant,  but  in  what  order  was  I  to  cast  my  lot  ?  Of 
one  thing  I  declared  myself  certain :  a  Jesuit  I  would  never 
be.  Anything  else  was  possible,  but  to  be  a  Jesuit — never. 
There  I  drew  the  line  of  demarcation.  After  hearing  the 
celebrated  Dominicans,  Monsabre  and  Chocarne,  I  had  a 
fancy  for  the  Friar  Preachers,  especially  after  reading  the 
fascinating  life  of  Lacordaire  by  Chocarne.  I  even  went  so 
far  as  to  call  on  Pere  Chocarne,  who  had  a  very  attractive 
personality,  and  I  arranged  for  a  retreat.  He  candidly  ad- 
vised me  to  join  the  French  Dominicans,  as  he  said  their 
studies  were  superior  to  those  made  by  the  American  Friars. 
My  sister  and  my  friend  would  not  hear  of  my  joining  the 
ranks  of  Freres  Precheurs,  and  talked  me  out  of  the  idea 
by  ridiculing  the  possibility  of  my  being  a  preacher.  Next 
the  missionary  spirit  took  hold  of  me.  I  had  been  serving 
the  Mass  of  one  of  the  White  Fathers,  as  the  missionaries  of 
the  congregation  founded  by  Cardinal  Lavigerie  for  Afri- 
can Missions  were  called,  and  had  become  interested  in  the 
work.  I  had  long  talks  with  the  Father  in  charge  of  the 
bureau  in  Paris;  finally  I  confided  to  him  my  desire  to 
devote  my  life  to  missions  in  Africa.  He  was  a  very  pru- 
dent man  and  encouraged  me  in  my  intention  to  become  a 

153 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

missionary,  but  said,  were  he  in  my  place,  that  he  would 
return  to  America  and  labor  there,  where,  as  an  American 
and  a  member  of  a  well-known  family,  I  should  have  more 
influence  in  making  converts,  especially  as  I  was  a  convert 
myself.  Besides  that,  he  advocated  my  joining  the  Jesuits. 
My  sister  and  my  friend  had  received  my  announcement  of 
my  intention  to  go  to  Africa  with  decided  opposition,  so, 
accepting  the  advice  of  the  White  Father,  at  least  partially, 
I  abandoned  the  idea  of  Africa  as  the  land  of  mv  future 
work." 

With  the  advice  of  Monsignor  Rogerson,  Van  Rensselaer 
next  turned  his  thoughts  to  the  Fathers  of  the  Oratory, 
founded  by  St.  Philip  Neri  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and 
having  among  its  distinguished  members  in  England  such 
men  as  Dr.  Newman,  Father  Dalgairns  and  Father  Faber. 
But  his  stay  at  Brompton  was  a  brief  one.     He  writes : 

"  Our  good  friend  Mgr.  Rogerson  had  always  intended 
my  friend  and  myself  for  Oratorians,  but  he  did  not  care  for 
the  French  Congregation,  preferring  the  English.  He  ac- 
cordingly wrote  to  Father  Morris,  then  Superior  of  the  Lon- 
don Oratory  at  Brompton,  and  got  an  invitation  for  us  to 
visit  there  with  a  view  to  settling  our  vocation.  To  London 
we  went.  Before  presenting  ourselves  at  the  house,  we  in- 
spected the  church.  It  was  the  old  one  built  by  the  saintly 
Father  Faber,  which  has  since  been  replaced  by  the  superb 
Romanesque  edifice. 

"  First  impressions,  in  my  case,  seem  to  be  prophetic  for 
me.  As  soon  as  we  entered  I  said  to  my  companion :  '  This 
is  not  the  place  of  my  abode.'  We  were  most  cordially  re- 
ceived by  the  Fathers  and  allowed  to  take  part  in  their  com- 
munity exercises.  They  were  a  very  charming  body  of  men, 
several  being  converts.     Although  they  are  a  congregation 

154 


A  CATHOLIC. 

not  bound  by  vows,  their  internal  discipline  is  rather  severe. 
For  instance,  they  seldom,  if  ever,  preach  outside  of  their 
own  church.  At  recreation,  so  called,  each  has  his  own  as- 
signed seat  which  he  must  occupy.  Everything  was  done 
in  the  Italian  style,  whether  that  style  were  worthy  of  imita- 
tion or  reformation.  Moreover  there  was  an  exaggerated 
devotion  to  St.  Philip  Neri,  the  great  founder,  which  ex- 
pressed itself  in  perpetual  references  to  him  in  season  and 
out  of  season.  They  smiled  because  St.  Philip  smiled,  and 
laughed  because  St.  Philip  laughed,  and  so  of  other  things." 


155 


CHAPTER  X. 
The  Jesuit  Novice. 

AS  the  life  of  the  Oratorians  was  not  to  his  liking,  Van 
Rensselaer  decided  to  return,  for  a  time  at  least,  to 
America,  and,  learning  that  Cardinal  McCloskey  was  about 
to  sail  for  New  York,  he  embarked  from  Havre  on  the  same 
steamer.  The  voyage  was  not  without  its  influence  upon 
his  future.  There  were  on  board  three  Jesuits  bound  for 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  One  of  them,  Father  Canestrelli, 
was  a  theologian  of  some  note,  and  the  successor  of  Cardinal 
Franzelin  in  the  divinity  chair  of  the  Gregorian  University 
in  Rome.  They  were  now  travelling  second  class  to  an  ob- 
scure mission  among  the  Indians.  They  were  bad  travellers 
and  were  very  sea-sick.  Van  Rensselaer  saw  a  great  deal  of 
these  men  and  administered  to  their  wants  as  far  as  he  was 
able.  Their  humility,  poverty  and  self-sacrifice  did  much  to 
counteract  the  prejudice  he  entertained  after  his  disagree- 
able experience  with  the  Jesuit  in  Paris,  and  brought  about 
in  him  the  first  conscious  attraction  to  the  Society  which 
formed  such  men. 

Shortly  after  his  arrival  in  New  York,  he  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  the  Rev.  John  Prendergast,  S.J.,  then  sta- 
tioned at  the  Church  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  New  York 
City.  To  mention  Father  Prendergast's  name,  is  to  call  to 
the  mind  of  those  who  knew  him,  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able of  the  New  York  priests  of  his  time.  A  man  of  sterling 
character,  he  was  fitted  by  his  cast  of  mind  and  literary  at- 

156 


REV.   JOHN    PRENDERGAST.   S.T. 


THE  JESUIT  NOVICE. 

lainments  to  make  a  deep  impression  on  the  new  convert. 
The  acquaintance  soon  ripened  into  a  friendship,  and  then 
into  an  intimacy  which  remained  unbroken  until  death  sepa- 
rated them  a  generation  later.  In  scholarship  Father  Pren- 
dergast  did  not  lose  by  comparison  with  any  of  the  Ox- 
ford dons;  in  spiritual  insight  he  easily  surpassed  them. 
What  was  of  supreme  importance,  he  could,  like  an  elder 
brother,  counsel  and  direct  one  who,  as  yet,  was  little  better 
than  a  catechumen.  He  first  suggested  that  Van  Rensse- 
laer should  make  a  retreat,  after  the  method  laid  down  by 
St.  Ignatius  of  Loyola  in  the  book  of  Spiritual  Exercises. 
Nay,  more,  Father  Prendergast  would  himself  act  as  his 
spiritual  guide.  Accordingly,  towards  the  end  of  June, 
1878,  they  withdrew  to  the  Jesuit  Novitiate  at  West  Park 
on  the  Hudson,  where  Van  Rensselaer  went  through  the 
Spiritual  Exercises  under  the  guidance  of  his  new  director. 
At  the  end  of  the  retreat,  he  applied  for  admission  to  the 
Society  of  Jesus,  and  was  received  by  the  Rev.  Theophile 
Charaux,  S.J.,  the  Superior  of  the  New  York  and  Canada 
Mission. 

Father  Charaux  wisely  determined  to  send  the  earnest 
and  devout  applicant  to  Roehampton,  England,  for  his 
novitiate,  where  he  could  receive  a  spiritual  formation  among 
candidates  many  of  whom  were  converts  like  himself,  and 
under  superiors  who  had  exceptional  experience  in  training 
such  men.  After  a  few  months  passed  with  his  family, 
he  sailed  on  October  2,  visiting  Paris,  Lourdes,  and  Paray- 
le-Monial,  before  he  entered  the  Jesuit  Novitiate  on  Novem- 
ber 1,  1878.  We  are  indebted  to  the  family  of  Father  Van 
Rensselaer  for  a  series  of  letters  sent  from  England  dur- 
ing the  following  two  years.  They  are  written  in  an  easy, 
familiar  style;  simple  and  utterly  devoid  of  self-conscious- 

157 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

ness,  as  all  such  letters  should  be,  and  reveal,  not  only  the 
workings  of  his  mind  and  heart,  but  the  admirable  prepara 
tion  he  was  unconsciously  making  for  his  future  apostolic 
career.     The  first  two  letters  were  written  during  the  voy- 
age. 

"  On  Board  the  Pereire, 

"  October  2,  1878. 

"  Just  one  word  before  we  are  out  of  sight  of  land.  This 
is  an  auspicious  day  for  sailing,  for  it  is  dedicated  to  the 
Holy  Guardian  Angels,  and  these  words  were  on  my  little 
French  Almanac :  '  C'est  la  voix  de  mon  ange  :  Je  suis  ton 
ami  et  je  te  conduirai  moi-meme  jusqu'au  terme  dans  la  voie 
ou  tu  dois  marcher.' 

4 '  It  is  always  au  revoir. 

"  Henry." 


"  Pereire, 

"  October  11,  1878. 

"  We  are  not  far  from  land.  In  a  few  hours  we  ex- 
pect to  pass  the  Scilly  Islands  and  then  it  is  a  run  of  eighteen 
hours  to  Havre.  It  is  quite  calm  and  pleasant  now,  but  we 
have  had  an  awful  time  of  it.  Perhaps  you  saw  by  the 
papers  that  there  had  been  a  storm  at  sea;  well,  we  had  it 

158 


THE  JESUIT  NOVICE. 

in  all  its  terror.  For  three  days  we  were  in  danger,  turned 
upside  down  every  few  minutes,  huge  waves  breaking  over 
the  bulwarks  and  leaking  down  into  the  cabins;  sleep  was 
impossible.  The  smoking-  room  was  rendered  useless;  a 
wave  broke  the  door  and  windows,  and  then  the  water 
rushed  down  into  the  ladies'  saloon.  Fortunately  it  was  at 
night,  when  no  one  was  there.  It  is  all  over  now,  Dieu 
merci." 

The  following  letter  is  the  first  he  wrote  from  Roe- 
hampton : — 

"  Manresa  House,  Roehampton, 

"  November  10,  1878. 

"This  place  is  beautiful;  it  was  formerly  the  hunting 
lodge  of  the  Earl  of  Bessborough,  and  adjoins  Richmond 
Park.  Our  grounds  are  very  extensive  and  we  can  take  a 
long  walk  in  them ;  but  several  times  a  week  we  go  where 
we  choose.  Wimbledon  Common  is  quite  near,  and  a  favor- 
ite walk  is  to  the  famous  Star  and  Garter  Inn  at  Richmond. 
The  good  walkers  go  as  far  as  London,  but  it  is  a  pretty 
long  stretch,  particularly  for  Americans,  and  I  prefer  steam 
legs  to  carry  me.  I  was  very  kindly  received,  and  put  under 
the  charge  of  General  Sherman's  son,  who  has  been  here 
since  June.  He  made  me  feel  at  home  at  once,  and  we  have 
a  good  many  walks  together.  I  have  a  fine  view  of  Rich- 
mond Park  from  my  window.  It  is  like  the  open  country, 
with  splendid  trees.  The  novices  are  a  very  jolly  crowd, 
and  we  have  many  a  laugh  together ;  in  most  things  we  are 
congenial,  a  happy  family  in  all  senses  of  the  word,  and  yet 

159 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

collected  from  many  nations :  English,  Scotch,  Irish,  Ameri- 
can, Belgian,  German,  French,  Italian,  Dalmatian,  Syrian, 
Maltese ;  yet  there  is  no  national  feeling,  and  the  foreigners 
are  usually  the  favorites.  Americans  are  considered  to  have 
the  power  of  adapting  themselves  to  circumstances,  perhaps 
because  they  travel  so  much.  It  seems  to  be  a  true  reputa- 
tion. We  have  an  ancient  novice  who  is  half  a  Canadian, 
having  lived  much  in  Canada ;  his  family  has  a  large  estate 
there,  and  he  has  crossed  the  Atlantic  thirty  times.  The 
life  is  rather  hard  for  an  elderly  person,  but  it  is  amusing 
to  see  what  the  things  are  to  which  different  people  attach 
importance.  His  greatest  trial  was  having  only  one  towel; 
he  had  always  used  six  at  a  time." 

Dating  from  his  reception  into  the  Church,  Van  Rens- 
selaer had  taken  a  deep  interest  in  the  work  of  the  missions. 
The  missionary  spirit,  so  necessary  for  the  apostolic  man, 
took  hold  of  him  in  the  very  cradle  of  his  religious  life 
and  waxed  stronger  day  by  day  as  time  went  on.  On  Jan- 
uary 22,  1879,  he  writes  :— 

"  I  am  reading  '  Marshall's  Christian  Missions.'  It  is 
intensely  interesting.  It  is  astonishing  to  find  that  there 
has  been  for  three  centuries,  and  still  exists,  a  flourishing 
church  in  China,  with  thousands  of  martyrs  and  confessors. 
On  the  31st  of  this  month,  a  Jesuit  Mission  is  to  be  begun 
in  Central  Africa,  covering  the  discoveries  of  Livingston 
and  Stanley.  It  belongs  to  this  Province  by  courtesy  to  the 
discoverers,  I  suppose,  for  most  of  the  Fathers  who  are  to 
go  are  French  or  Belgian,  the  universal  missionaries.  These 
missions  and  their  results  are  a  most  convincing  proof  of  the 
truth  of  Catholicism.  In  all  ages  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel 

160 


THE  JESUIT  NOVICE. 

has  been  followed  by  precisely  the  same  effects :  perfect 
self-abnegation,  marvellous  supernatural  courage,  and  mira- 
cles of  healing,  etc.  To  my  mind,  the  greatest  miracle  is 
the  supernatural  strength  given  to  young  and  old,  women, 
and  even  children,  to  endure  unheard-of  tortures  without 
denying  their  faith.  The  Chinese  converts  were  begged  by 
Mandarins  simply  to  step  upon  the  cross — they  might  be- 
lieve what  they  chose  if  they  would  conform  outwardly — 
but  they  scouted  the  suggestion  and  cheerfully  suffered 
and  died  for  Our  Lord.  Truly  such  faith  puts  us  to  the 
blush." 

The  following  extracts  from  letters  which  were  written 
at  Roehampton  give  us  a  good  insight  into  the  work-a-day 
life  of  the  Jesuit  novice.  Several  hours  a  day  are  given  to 
vocal  and  mental  prayer,  spiritual  reading  and  self-examina- 
tion. Of  these  duties  Van  Rensselaer  says  little,  deeming 
them  of  slight  interest  even  to  his  family,  but  dwells  on  the 
external  occupations  which  afford  more  interesting  matter 
for  letter-writing. 

"  February  1,  1879. 

"  I  am  very  busy  this  month  as  I  have  the  office  of  First 
Refectorian,  which  is  quite  responsible.  I  have  to  direct  all 
the  work  in  the  Refectory  and  attend  to  the  proper  serving 
of  the  meals.  It  requires  management  and  common  sense. 
You  will  say :  '  What  is  the  use  of  your  doing  such  things  ?  ' 
Well,  one  reason  is,  that  it  rests  our  minds  from  studying ; 
another  very  important  one  is,  that  it  trains  us  to  take  super- 
vision and  direction  and  submit  to  bearing  hardships,  for  it 
is  not  exactly  a  pleasure." 

1G1 


LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

"July  13,  1879. 

"  I  may  not  have  another  chance  of  writing  for  some 
time,  as  we  are  very  busy  hay-making.  We  have  had  rain 
every  day  for  a  month,  but  on  Wednesday  the  weather 
seemed  to  change,  so  our  grass  was  partly  cut,  and  we  were 
set  to  work  to  shake  and  turn  it  in  order  to  get  it  dried 
as  soon  as  possible.  All  our  studies  stop  during  the  hay- 
making, and  we  are  only  allowed  time  for  praying,  eating 
and  sleeping,  the  three  necessities  of  our  life.  We  even 
work  after  supper  when  there  is  danger  of  rain." 

"  August  1. 

"  We  are  still  busy  in  the  hay-field  and  are  well  sun- 
burned. I  am  sure  it  will  do  us  a  great  deal  of  good  to  be 
so  much  in  the  open  air  and  in  such  healthy  exercise.  The 
frequent  showers  doubled,  or  rather  quadrupled,  our  ex- 
ertions ;  it  was  necessary  to  do  so  much  shaking  to  get  the 
hay  dried.  However,  we  have  got  three-fourths  secured  in 
a  stack,  while  the  rest  still  demands  our  attention.  We  get 
through  a  great  deal  of  work  in  the  morning,  when  we  do 
not  talk,  but  in  the  afternoon  our  tongues  do  more  than  our 
hands.  The  weather  has  been  unfavorable  for  fruit,  but 
our  strawberries  have  ripened,  and  very  good  ones  they  are. 
English  people  do  not  eat  fruit  as  we  do  in  America — half  a 
dozen  strawberries  satisfy  them.  We  have  to  gather  fruit 
now  for  preserving — strawberries  and  black  currants — so 
you  see,  we  have  a  variety  of  work.  I  think,  however,  that 
I  prefer  the  good  old  routine.  It  has  fallen  to  my  lot  to  ar- 
range flowers  for  the  Altar,  so  I  am  quite  in  my  element. 
We  have  beautiful  roses  of  all  kinds." 

162 


THE  JESUIT  NOVICE. 

"  September  17,  1879. 

"  It  is  some  time  since  I  have  written,  as  I  have  been 
very  busy.  First  our  week's  Retreat;  then  for  ten  days 
I  have  been  helping  the  cook,  a  very  delightful  occupation, 
as  you  may  imagine,  for  the  quondam  fastidious  H.  V.  R. 
However,  I  am  getting  on  very  well,  notwithstanding  the 
smells  and  the  grease.  It  is  hard  work  to  stand  over  the 
steaming  tubs,  washing  dishes  and  scouring  pots  and  pans. 
As  we  have  a  large  community,  they  reckon  about  seven 
hundred  plates  a  day,  but  they  are  nothing  compared  to 
the  greasy  pots  and  pans.  This  work  is  supposed  to  be  an 
antidote  to  pride,  although  one  can  be  proud  of  being  a 
good  scullery  man.  This  summer  has  been  rather  a  con- 
trast to  previous  ones,  when  I  was  decidedly  an  idler.  Now, 
it  is  impossible  to  be  idle,  and  I  see  that  time  is  too  precious 
to  be  wasted." 

The  Feast  of  All  Saints,  1879,  was  the  first  anniversary 
of  his  entrance  into  the  novitiate.  No  shadow  of  doubt  of 
his  being  where  God  wished  him  to  be  ever  crossed  his 
mind.  He  was  very  happy,  and  wrote  home  assuring  his 
family  of  his  contentment. 

"  All  Saints  Day,  1879. 

"  To-day  is  my  birthday  in  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and  in 
one  year  more  I  hope  to  take  my  simple  vows  on  this  great 
feast.  I  am  perfectly  happy  and  very  thankful  for  my 
vocation.  I  shall  appreciate  this  year  more  than  the  last, 
for  the  foundation  is  not  the  most  interesting  part  of  the 
spiritual  structure.     I  have  passed  through  everything  that 

163 


LIFE  OF   HENRY    VAN   RENSSELAER 

we  have  in  the  way  of  trials.     Many  will  come  again  to 
my  share,  but  they  will  be  like  old  friends." 

There  was  not  much  chance  for  letter-writing  for  a 
month  or  more,  but  the  day  after  Christmas  he  wrote 
again : — 

."  December  26,  1879. 

"  I  have  been  very  busy  for  the  past  month  as  Refec- 
torian;  the  long  retreat  is  going  on,  and  those  who  are 
making  it  do  not  help  as  usual.  The  lay-brother  novice 
who  was  chief  Refectorian  went  into  retreat  to  prepare  for 
taking  his  vows,  and  for  five  days  I  have  had  his  place.  To- 
day, however,  my  labors  cease.  In  spite  of  all,  I  have  had  a 
very  happy  feast.  We  had  a  delightful  Midnight  Mass, 
preceded  by  the  '  Adeste,'  arranged  by  Novello  for  solo,  duet, 
trio  and  chorus.  I  sang  the  bass  solo.  We  had  a  High 
Mass  in  the  public  chapel,  and  in  the  afternoon  we  all  went 
to  Farm  Street  for  Vespers.  The  fog  was  so  thick  that 
we  almost  lost  our  way  in  Waterloo  Place.  The  Holy 
Innocents  is  our  great  day,  and  we  hope  to  pay  a  visit  to 
the  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor.  On  St.  Stanislaus'  Day 
three  of  us  novices  went  to  Nazareth  House  and  were 
treated  most  cordially.  The  Mother  General  took  us  every- 
where herself.  She  suggested  that  we  ask  for  a  holiday  for 
her  novices ;  so  we  did,  only  stipulating  that  they  should  say 
their  beads  for  us.  I  have  a  great  devotion  to  the  Holy 
Innocents.  This  was  a  favorite  devotion  of  St.  Francis  de 
Sales,  who  died  invoking  them.  There  is  something  grand 
not  only  in  dying  for  Our  Lord,  like  the  martyrs,  but  in 
dying  instead  of  Him,  like  these  little  Innocents.     A  very 

164 


THE  JESUIT  NOVICE. 

Happy  New  Year.     Each  ought  to  be  happier  than  the  last, 
because  it  brings  us  nearer  to  Our  Lord." 

"  Feast  of  the  Epiphany,  1880. 

"  A  great  feast  day,  and  many  of  the  novices  have  gone 
to  London  to  the  different  churches,  but  I  thought  I  should 
like  a  quiet  afternoon  for  writing.  My  little  plan  was  in- 
terrupted by  being  called  upon  to  help  wash  the  dinner 
things,  so  I  set  it  down  as  something  to  offer  Our  Lord  on 
Epiphany;  not  much,  it  is  true,  but  having  given  myself, 
I  can  only  give  what  I  can  do  in  His  service." 

In  the  two  letters  that  follow,  his  predilection  for  the  mis- 
sions again  asserts  itself  : — 


"  Feast  of  Purification.  1880. 

"I  am  trying  to  pick  up  a  little  Spanish  and  find  it  easy, 
knowing  French  well,  and  Latin,  which  is  the  mother 
tongue.  I  received  an  incentive  from  a  letter  Father  W. 
wrote  me  from  California.  He  had  spent  six  weeks  with  a 
tribe  of  Indians,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  Los 
Angeles.  He  taught  them  their  prayers  and  did  everything 
for  them  except  burying  them,  as  none  of  them  would  die 
just  then.  They  fitted  up  a  mud  hut  as  a  chapel  and  draped 
it  tastefully  with  bright  colored  calicoes.  It  was  really 
pretty,  but  weird  looking,  when  filled  with  dusky  men 
in  skins,  women  in  calicoes,  and  babies  an  nature!, 
He  taught  and  preached  in  Spanish,  and  it  must  have  been 
consoling  to  be  able  to  do  so  much  for  those  poor  Indians. 

165 


LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

It  always   fills   me  with   enthusiasm   to  hear  of  real   mis- 
sionary work." 

"  February  27. 

"  Winter  is  coming  to  an  end,  bushes  are  budding,  and  the 
ground  has  thawed.  I  am  not  sorry,  as  my  outdoor  work 
is  to  break  up  earth  for  a  new  walk.  Not  an  easy  task  to 
use  a  pickaxe  on  ground  as  hard  as  the  nether  mill-stone. 
I  am  translating  from  the  French  the  Diary  of  Father 
Depelchin,  one  of  our  missionaries  in  South  Africa.  They 
have  a  great  deal  to  contend  with,  especially  the  lack  of 
water  in  crossing  the  deserts,  and  also  of  food,  as  the  coun- 
try is  barren,  and  there  are  few  animals.  The  poor  mis- 
sionaries have  to  live  on  a  little  rice  or  millet  with  small 
quantities  of  coffee  to  wash  it  down.  Yet  they  write  most 
contentedly  and  are  grateful  for  the  privilege  of  carrying 
the  Gospel  to  the  poor  benighted  savages.  I  enjoy  trans- 
lating it  and  feel  as  if  I  were  helping  them  in  a  small  way. 
You  will  be  glad  to  hear  that  I  get  two  hours  a  week  prac- 
tice on  the  harmonium,  so  I  shall  not  forget  the  little  that  I 
know.  Our  voices,  too,  are  well  trained.  We  have  a  new 
choir-master,  a  novice  who  was  the  organist  of  St.  Bar- 
tholomew's, Brighton.  Three  other  novices,  converts,  came 
from  that  church.  One  was  a  curate,  another  superintendent 
of  a  Sunday-school,  while  the  fourth,  a  lay  brother,  was  a 
chorister.  The  singing  has  improved  wonderfully  under 
the  regime  of  the  Choir-master.  We  practise  for  an  hour 
every  morning.  I  can  never  have  too  much  singing,  as  it 
is  a  great  pleasure." 

It  was  during  these  years  that  he  wrote  to  his  mother  the 
following  letters.     In  the  matter  of  her  son's  conversion, 

166 


THE  JESUIT  NOVICE. 

Mrs.  Van  Rensselaer  remained  unreconciled  and  unrecon- 
cilable  to  the  end.  Later  she  declined  to  attend  his  ordi- 
nation to  the  Priesthood,  on  the  ground  that  she  had  once 
seen  him  ordained  a  deacon  in  the  Episcopal  Church.  The 
letters  display  exquisite  tact  and  delicacy  in  speaking  to  her 
of  his  status  as  a  novice  and  his  desire  to  have  her  learn 
something  about  the  Catholic  Church. 


"  London, 

"  October  30,  1878. 
"  My  Dearest  Mother: 

"  As  you  see,  I  have  left  Paris.  I  only  got  here  to-day,  a 
few  hours  ago,  having  had  a  very  disagreeable  crossing  by 
Dieppe  and  Newhaven.  I  was  next  door  to  being  sick,  but 
escaped.  I  enjoyed  my  visit  to  Paris  very  much  and  should 
have  been  sorry  to  leave,  had  it  not  been  to  enter  upon  my 
life-work.  Last  week  I  was  gone  four  days  from  Paris,  as 
I  wanted  to  see  Paray-le-Monial  and  Lourdes.  The  scenery 
about  Lourdes  is  beautiful;  it  is,  you  know,  in  the 
Pyrenees,  built  partly  upon  a  mountain  and  partly  in  the 
valley  through  which  the  river  runs.  The  church  is  exquis- 
ite and  in  very  good  taste,  and  full  of  magnificent  banners 
carried  there  by  pilgrims  and  left  as  souvenirs  of  the  pil- 
grimage. I  noticed  our  flag  hanging  up.  There  are  not 
many  people  there  now,  as  it  is  too  late  in  the  season  and  there 
is  apt  to  be  a  great  deal  of  rain;  besides,  the  holiday  tours 
are  over,  and  people  cannot  leave  home  without  some  special 
reason.    Of  course  there  are  always  some  invalids  there. 

"  I  had  quite  a  time  getting  to  Lourdes,  as  I  wanted  to  stop 

167 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

at  Paray-le-Monial.  I  left  Paris  on  Tuesday  at  8  :30  in  the 
evening,  and  had  to  change  cars  at  3  a.  m.  and  wait  an  hour. 
However,  by  the  change  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  young 
Belgian.  He  was  such  a  swell-looking  fellow  that  I  hesi- 
tated at  first  about  getting  into  the  same  carriage  with  him. 
I  did,  though,  and  found  in  him  a  fellow  pilgrim.  Although 
rather  mondain  looking,  nevertheless  he  had  resolved  to  fly 
the  world  and  retire  into  a  monastery,  as  he  had  been  very 
worldly,  he  told  me.  He  is  only  twenty-eight,  handsome  and 
rich,  and  his  friends  and  family  are  desolccs,  but  he  has  to 
follow  his  vocation.  I  liked  him  very  much,  and  was  pleased 
to  find  in  real  life  what  sounds  very  like  a  novel.  On  parting 
he  gave  me  a  very  pretty  illuminated  parchment  card  with  a 
motto,  '  Pensons  au  Ciel  et  nous  aurons  le  courage  d'etre 
fideles  a  Dieu  quoiqu'il  en  coute.'  Very  appropriate  for  us 
both.  I,  strange  to  say,  had  a  card  with  the  likeness  of  St. 
Norbert,  the  founder  of  the  Order  of  the  Premonstraten- 
sians,  which  was  the  order  my  friend  had  chosen.  His 
name  was  Van  der  Heyden. 

I  could  only  spend  a  few  hours  at  Paray-le-Monial,  but 
long  enough  to  see  the  Chapel  of  the  Visitation.  I  had  hard 
work  to  get  thence  to  Lourdes  as  it  is  all  across  country, 
and  there  were  no  through  trains,  and  I  was  from  2  p.  M. 
Wednesday  until  7  p.  m.  Thursday  en  route  and  had  to 
change  six  times.  I  made  friends,  though,  so  I  did  not  mind 
it  very  much.  I  had  nearly  two  days  at  Lourdes  and  got 
back  to  Paris  on  Sunday  morning  at  5  :30,  as  I  wanted  to  be 
once  more  at  the  Sunday  services  at  my  old  friends,  the  Paris 
Churches.     .     .     . 

"  Your  devoted  son, 

"  Harry." 
168 


THE  JESUIT  NOVICE. 

"  Manresa  House, 

"  roehampton, 

"  November  17,  1878. 
"  My  Dearest  Mother  : 

"  I  have  no  news  to  write  you  from  here,  so  I  will  tell  you 
a  little  about  my 'life  at  present.  So,  to  begin.  Imagine  a  very 
large  room  with  three  windows  and  six  little  cells  partitioned 
off  with  curtains  for  doors ;  the  rest  of  the  room  is  open,  has 
bureaus  and  desks  for  each  of  us,  with  a  pleasant  fire  burning 
in  the  grate.  Each  cell  has  an  iron  bed,  with  comfortable 
mattress,  a  washstand  and  a  chair.  There  are  very  many  such 
dormitories ;  each  has  about  six  cells.  Do  not  be  alarmed  at 
the  word  '  cell,'  for  it  is  in  fact  not  at  all  alarming,  but  I 
can't  think  of  any  other  word  to  suit.  It  is  far  more  spacious 
than  the  prophet's  chamber  in  the  wall ;  he  certainly  hadn't 

"  It  is  night,  and  we  are  all  sleeping  the  sleep  of  the 
righteous ;  at  a  quarter  past  five  in  the  morning  a  step  is  heard 
and  a  voice  at  each  door  calling  out  Deo  gratias  (Thanks  be 
to  God)  ;  everyone  replies  at  once,  Deo  gratias,  and  jumps 
out  of  bed ;  the  fire  is  lighted  and  likewise  the  gas,  and  the 
work  of  washing  and  dressing  begins.  We  have  half  an  hour 
allowed  us  for  it,  then  all  go  down  to  the  Chapel,  and  the  bell 
rings  for  the  Angelus,  which  is  so  called  because  it  is  the 
memorial  of  the  Incarnation  of  Our  Lord,  beginning  with 
words  '  Angelus  Domini,'  (the  Angel  of  the  Lord  declared 
unto  Mary,  etc.),  and  ending  with  what  you  will  find  in  the 
Prayer  book  as  the  Collect  for  the  Annunciation  of  the  B. 
V.  M.     Then  all  make  a  prayer  called  the  '  morning  obla- 

169 


LIFE   OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

tion,'  in  which  they  offer  up  themselves,  all  their  thoughts, 
words  and  actions,  pains  and  sufferings  of  the  day  to  Al- 
mighty God  in  union  with  those  of  Our  Lord  while  on  earth. 
It  is  very  comprehensive,  takes  in  everything,  thanksgiving, 
intercession,  confession  of  past  faults,  intentions  for  the 
future.  There  is  no  regular  form  for  it,  and  ten  minutes  are 
allowed.  Then  we  all  return  to  our  rooms  and  make  a  medi- 
tation on  some  text  of  scripture,  events  in  Our  Lord's  life, 
or  on  some  virtue  or  some  vice  etc.,  which  one  can  choose  at 
will.  This  lasts  for  an  hour  and  is  done  kneeling  for  a  quar- 
ter, standing  for  a  quarter,  sitting  for  a  quarter,  kneeling 
again  for  a  quarter,  during  which  resolutions  for  the  day  are 
made.  Then  all  go  to  the  Chapel  for  Mass ;  several  times 
in  the  week  we  receive  Holy  Communion.  At  a  quarter  to 
eight  we  have  breakfast,  as  much  coffee,  bread  and  butter  as 
we  can  eat.  At  8  :25  we  make  our  beds,  doing  it  thoroughly, 
stripping  them  every  day — this  is  de  rigueur.  At  8  :35  we 
read  Rodriguez  on  Christian  perfection.  Then  we  have  an 
exhortation  upon  some  duty,  after  which  we  do  some  work 
about  the  house,  help  in  the  refectory,  or  the  sacristy,  or 
the  chapel,  or  the  kitchen,  or  the  library,  for  twenty  minutes. 
This  is  followed  in  fine  weather  by  some  manual  labor,  rak- 
ing leaves,  digging  in  the  garden,  rolling  the  paths,  drawing 
water  for  drinking,  etc. 

Of  course  the  object  of  the  work  is  to  accustom  us  to  help 
ourselves  and  to  be  ready  for  anything.  It  is  good  to  have 
our  hands  going  sometimes  instead  of  our  heads.  The  out- 
door work  lasts  about  half  an  hour.  Then  we  study,  and  at 
12  :30  wash  and  get  ready  for  dinner ;  at  12  :45  we  go  into  the 
chapel  for  what  is  called  the  particular  examen,  that  is  we 
renew  in  our  minds  all  we  have  thought,  done,  said,  or 
omitted  since  the  morning,  dwelling  on  the  resolution  made 

170 


THE  JESUIT  NOVICE. 

in  the  morning's  meditation  to  correct  some  fault  or  to  prac- 
tise some  act  of  virtue.  The  Angelus  bell  rings  at  1,  and 
when  the  prayer  is  said  dinner  begins.  There  is  no  talking  at 
meals,  but  instead  there  is  reading,  first  a  portion  of  Scrip- 
ture, then  some  history  or  biography,  ending  with  the  list  of 
the  martyrs  and  saints  whose  anniversaries  occur  on  the  fol- 
lowing day.  After  every  meal  all  go  into  the  chapel  for  a 
few  moments  of  silent  prayer.  Recreation  for  an  hour  fol- 
lows, with  prayer  for  a  quarter,  reading  of  the  Imitation  of 
Christ  for  another  quarter,  then  work  indoors  and  outdoors, 
with  some  free  time  afterwards.  Three  times  a  week  one  of 
us  has  to  catechise  the  others  as  if  they  were  children,  in 
order  to  get  facility  in  questioning  and  explaining.  Twice  a 
week  we  practise  singing:  and  time  is  given  for  spiritual 
reading,  lives  of  saints,  etc.  At  six  there  is  half  an  hour's 
meditation  in  the  chapel,  followed  by  prayers.  Supper  is  at 
7  :35,  with  recreation  for  an  hour.  At  9  litanies  are  recited 
in  the  chapel.  After  that  we  prepare  points  for  the  next 
morning's  meditation ;  at  9  :30  make  an  examination  of  con- 
science about  all  we  have  done,  thought,  said  during  the 
day ;  at  a  quarter  to  ten  prepare  for  bed,  and  at  ten  lights  out. 
"  So  you  see  we  lead  quite  an  active  and  certainly  a  very 
busy  life;  at  the  same  time  it  is  a  very  spiritual  one.  During 
the  day  we  speak  only  at  recreation  hours;  at  other  times 
whenever  it  is  necessary,  and  then  the  language  used  must 
be  Latin  if  possible.  After  all  we  have  plenty  of  time  for 
talking.  On  Wednesdays  and  Sundays  we  have  long  walks 
in  fine  weather,  and  on  Sundays  do  not  work.  We  are  a 
very  jolly  set  and  very  happy.  Recreation  hours  are  very 
lively;  there  are  no  cares  to  weigh  upon  us  and  everything 
to  help  us  in  our  spiritual  life.  What  more  can  we  ask  for  ? 
Of  course,  this  is  only  for  a  time.     In  time  of  peace  prepare 

171 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

for  war,  and  this  is  our  time  of  peace.  The  war  time  will 
come.  We  begin  a  month's  retreat  on  the  24th,  lasting  until 
Christmas.  During  this  I  shall  not  be  able  to  write  any  let- 
ters, but  will  make  up  for  lost  time  when  it  is  over,  so  do  not 
be  worried  by  not  hearing  from  me,  but  write  all  the  same. 
I  have  a  commission  for  you.  I  want  you  to  knit  me  a  pair 
of  hand  muffs,  also  a  pair  of  mittens.  They  will  be  useful 
for  working  and  walking;  black  is  the  best  color  (excuse  the 
bull),  because  it  won't  get  soiled.  I  hope  everybody  thinks 
as  often  of  me  as  I  do  of  them. 

"  Ever  your  devoted  son, 

"  Harry." 

"  Manresa  House, 

"  roehampton, 

"  Christmas  Day,  1878. 
"  My  Dearest  Mother  : 

"  It  is  quite  strange  to  begin  writing  letters  again  after  my 
long  silence.  My  first  letter  is,  of  course,  to  you.  You  know 
well  how  much  and  lovingly  I  have  had  you  in  my  mind 
to-day.  We  had  Mass  at  midnight,  beginning  by  singing 
"  Adeste  Fideles  " ;  you  may  be  sure  that  we  sang  it  with  all 
our  might;  one  never  tires  of  it,  and  it  never  seems  hack- 
neyed. Christmas  would  seem  incomplete  without  it.  At 
Holy  Communion  I  thought  particularly  of  you  and  all  my 
family.  When  one  thinks  of  the  Holy  Family,  one's  thoughts 
naturally  turn  to  our  own,  and  no  wonder  Christmas  is  the 
family  festival. 

172 


THE  JESUIT  NOVICE. 

"  After  the  service  we  sang  the  Te  Deum,  which  was  very 
inspiring  and  solemn.  We  sang  it  to  the  old  Gregorian,  or 
rather  Ambrosian  music,  and  it  added  much  to  one's  devotion 
to  feel  that  those  words  and  the  music  to  which  they  were 
set  had  been  in  use  fourteen  hundred  years  in  all  countries, 
and  in  so  many  different  nations,  always  the  identical 
words,  the  evergreen  Latin,  '  Te  Deum  Laudamus.'  After 
it  was  over  we  had  some  bouillon  and  bread,  and  then  we 
went  to  bed,  having  had  our  first  taste  of  Christmas,  and  the 
best  part,  too,  I  may  say.  We  were  up  again  for  Mass  at 
seven.  Unfortunately,  it  was  not  a  very  pleasant  clay  out 
doors,  but  rather  foggy  and  snowy,  and  we  were  not  tempted 
to  go  out  except  for  a  little  walk.  It  is  real  typical  Christ- 
mas weather,  with  plenty  of  cold  and  snow,  in  keeping  with 
the  season. 

"  I  never  saw  anything  more  beautiful  than  it  is  here  after 
a  snow  storm,  when  the  sun  comes  out.  We  make  our- 
selves useful,  too,  in  shoveling  or  sweeping  the  snow  from 
the  walks,  and  as  we  can  take  more  than  a  half-mile  walk 
round  part  of  the  grounds,  there  is  no  lack  of  employment 
for  our  spare  moments.  It  is  very  healthy  and  good  exer- 
cise, and  freshens  up  the  mind  and  warms  up  the  body.  The 
house  is  kept  very  comfortable  with  open  fires  in  all  the 
rooms;  some  of  them  have  great  old-fashioned  fire  places 
with  andirons. 

"  The  decorations  have  been  very  tasteful  and  pretty. 
There  was  an  abundance  of  material  on  the  place — enormous 
hedges  of  laurel,  great  trees  of  holly,  and  no  end  of  ivy.  The 
hall  ceiling  is  supported  by  columns,  and  round  each  is 
twined  beautiful  thick  ivy  vines,  besides  ropes  of  laurel  and 
holly  from  column  to  column.  You  have  no  idea  what  a 
pretty  effect  of  Bethlehem,  and  the  cave,  and  the  stable  was 

173 


LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN    RENSSELAER 

made  by  means  of  brown  paper  and  salt  and  greens,  together 
with  the  figures  of  the  Holy  Family  and  the  shepherds. 
Brown  paper  judiciously  arranged  makes  splendid  rocks, 
salt  does  for  snow,  greens  for  trees,  etc.  Really  it  is  as- 
tonishing how  realistic  and  pretty  it  is,  and  costs  nothing  but 
a  little  time  and  taste.  It  may  sound  childish,  but  notwith- 
standing it  certainly  does  help  one  to  realize  the  scene,  and 
after  all  what  is  a  picture,  but  canvas,  paint,  time  and  taste, 
or  talent. 

"  Christmas  being  a  great  festival,  we  talked  at  table 
during  dinner,  which  is  very  unusual.  I  am  not  quite  sure 
that  it  is  an  improvement  upon  the  reading  aloud,  but  the 
change  is  pleasant  occasionally. 

"  Saturday  will  be  a  great  day  for  us — Holy  Innocents' 
Day.  We  always  have  a  great  entertainment  on  that  day, 
with  a  seance  in  the  evening  for  our  amsuement.  We  are 
spectators,  the  Juniors  provide  the  performance.  One  of  the 
features  of  the  day  is  having  an  Innocent  Beadle.  You  must 
know,  that  the  Beadle  is  a  very  important  person;  he  is  a 
novice  put  in  charge  of  the  others,  and  has  to  make  out  all 
the  notices,  give  all  the  orders  for  the  different  exercises  of 
the  day,  ring  the  bells  for  beginning  and  ending  every  duty, 
answer  all  questions,  give  out  whatever  is  wanted,  pens,  ink, 
soap,  in  fact  do  any  and  everything.  You  may  imagine 
that  it  is  not  a  sinecure ;  indeed,  the  man  who  is  selected  for 
this  office  must  be  a  very  holy  and  superior  novice  to  exer- 
cise these  duties  with  patience,  and  gentleness,  and  recollec- 
tion. Well,  on  Holy  Innocents'  day  his  duties  are  suspended, 
and  all  of  us  draw  for  the  Innocent  beadle  of  the  day;  those 
who  escape  the  doubtful  honor  amuse  themselves  by  tor- 
menting the  unfortunate  Innocent,  who,  however,  can  re- 
venge himself  by  giving  some  unpleasant  job  to  his  tor- 

174 


THE  JESUIT  NOVICE. 

mentors.    I  hope  if  may  not  fall  to  my  lot,  although  of  course 
it  is  only  fun  and  everything  is  done  con  amove. 

"  I  must  close  with  warmest  Christmas  greetings  to  every- 
body. 

"  Your  devoted  son, 

"Harry." 

"  Manresa  House, 

"  ROEHAMPTON, 

"  Feast  of  the  Purification,  1879. 
"  My  Dearest  Mother  : 

"  This  is  a  good  day  on  which  to  write  a  letter  to  you,  the 
Feast  when  the  Blessed  Virgin,  publicly  in  the  Temple,  of- 
fered her  Divine  Son  to  His  Eternal  Father.  Up  to  this 
time  all  had  taken  place  as  it  were  in  private,  the  birth  in 
the  stable,  the  circumcision  in  the  house,  the  worship  of  the 
shepherds  and  the  Magi,  but  to-day  He  was  presented  in  the 
Temple  and  declared  to  be  '  The  Light  to  lighten  the  Gen- 
tiles and  the  Glory  of  His  people  Israel ' — and  Simeon  could 
say,  '  My  eyes  have  seen  the  Salvation,'  which  was  to  be 
wrought  by  this  wonderful  child  of  promise. 

"What  a  beautiful  picture!  The  Holy  Family,  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  holding  her  Divine  Son  in  her  arms,  St. 
Joseph  carrying,  probably,  the  modest  offering  of  the  doves, 
and  the  Priest  who  was  to. receive,  as  minister  of  the  Most 
High  God,  God  the  Son  Incarnate.  Then  Simeon  and  Anna, 
prophesying  and  thanking  God  for  the  signal  favor  they 
had  received  in  being  allowed  to  live  long  enough  to  see  the 

175 


LIFE  OF   HENRY    VAN    RENSSELAER 

desire  of  Israel.  At  first  sight  we  wonder  why  the  Blessed 
Virgin  did  not  offer  the  lamb,  and  then  we  think  that  she 
did  indeed  offer  the  Lamb  of  God,  that  taketh  away  the  sins 
of  the  world — the  type  would  have  been  out  of  place  in  the 
presence  of  the  antitype.  Then,  too,  she  would  set  us  an 
example  of  humility  and  poverty.  She,  the  princess  of  the 
House  of  David,  makes  the  offering  of  the  poor,  though 
doubtless  she  had  gold  which  had  been  presented  by  the 
Magi.  But  she  teaches  us  a  deeper  lesson  of  humility  by 
the  very  act  of  purification.  She  was  not  under  the  Law ; 
she.  who  had  conceived  by  the  power  and  the  overshadowing 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  could  not  be  held  by  the  law  made  for 
those  who  were  mothers  in  the  natural  way.  However,  she 
does  not  avail  herself  of  her  privileges,  but  consents  to  act  in 
obedience  to  the  commandments  of  the  Law. 

"  To  any  chance  worshiper  in  the  Temple  this  little  parb 
may  have  appeared  very  ordinary,  poor  and  unworthy  of 
attention,  yet  they  were  God  the  Son,  His  Mother,  and  His 
foster-father  and  the  protector  ox  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary. 
So  it  was  all  through  Our  Lord's  earthly  life.  He  did  not 
command  the  respect,  and  attention,  and  love  of  the  people ; 
only  a  few  chosen  ones  here  and  there  could  pierce  the  veil 
and  see  beneath  the  human  form  the  Divine  Person.  So  on 
Calvary,  only  the  eye  of  Faith  can  recognize  God,  His 
Mother  and  with  her  another  protector,  St.  John,  for  St. 
Joseph's  work  was  ended,  and  he  had  gone  to  his  rest  in  the 
arms  of  Jesus  and  Mary.  Did  you  ever  wonder  how  you 
would  have  acted  had  you  been  present  in  the  Temple  at  the 
time  of  the  presentation  ?  I  am  afraid  most  of  us  would  have 
<urned  away  from  such  an  humble  party.  We  are  so  ac- 
customed to  think  of  Our  Lord  as  God,  that  we  fail  to  realize 
Mi?  humanity  and  His  humility.     We  are  shocked  at  any- 


THE  JESUIT  NOVICE. 

thing  poor  and  common,  at  least  our  feeling  is  one  of  com- 
passion and  condescension.  Well,  as  Our  Lord's  life  on 
earth  was  marvellous,  so  is  it  now  in  the  Sacrament  of 
the  Most  Holy  Eucharist.  As  St.  Thomas  Aquinas  says 
in  his  hymn  : — 

Sight  and  touch  and  taste, 

May  nought  of  Him  discern, 
But  the  soul  that  hearkens, 

Can  the  mystery  learn. 
On  the  Cross  Thy  Godhead 

Only  was  concealed, 
Here,  not  e'en  Thy  manhood, 

Is  to  sight  revealed. 
But  in  both  believing 

And  confessing,  Lord, 
Ask  I  what  the  dying 

Thief  of  Thee  implored. 
I  do  not,  like  Thomas, 

See  Thy  wounds  appear, 
But  with  him  confess 

My  Lord  and  God  is  here. 

What  a  wonderful  gift  faith  is,  and  how  impossible  to 
believe  anything  without  it ;  everything  is  so  full  of  mystery, 
yet  it  is  not  until  we  try  to  explain  that  we  realize  the 
depths  of  mystery.  We  really  believe  simply  because  we 
start  with  the  principle  that  God  is  omnipotent,  and  that 
nothing  that  does  not  contradict  His  attributes  is  beyond 
His  power.  And  so  it  is  as  easy  for  Him  to  manifest  Him- 
self under  the  veils  of  bread  and  wine  as  to  manifest  Him- 
self in  the  body  He  took  in  the  womb  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 
To  say  that  it  is  impossible  is  to  deny  His  omnipotence. 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

"  I  have  written  quite  a  dissertation,  haven't  I?  but  it  is 
hard  to  think  of  Our  Lord  under  one  form  without  being 
carried  away  to  the  other,  the  one  under  which  we  now  with 
eyes  of  faith  see  Him.  It  is  a  great  privilege  to  know  Our 
Lord  now  by  the  light  of  faith,  to  receive  in  Holy  Com- 
munion Him  whom  we  shall  see  face  to  face  when  faith 
shall  become  sight.  In  the  meantime  don't  let  us  deceive 
ourselves  by  saying,  I  can't  believe  because  I  can't  see.  If 
we  could  see  it  would  not  be  faith. 

"  We  have  had  the  last  of  the  Feasts  of  the  Incarnation 
now,  and  Lent  will  soon  be  coming  writh  the  new  phase  of 
Our  Lord's  life.  Surely  we  ought  to  pray  like  Him  when 
we  have  always  His  life  set  before  us  as  an  example  to  follow. 
But  I  must  be  closing  now.  I  enjoy  your  letters  very  much, 
my  dearest  mother. 

"  Your  devoted  son. 

"  Harry." 


"  Manresa  House, 

"  roehampton, 

"  March  12,  1879. 
"  My  Dearest  Mother  : 

"  It  is  quite  a  time  since  I  wrote  last,  certainly  not  this 
month ;  but  I  have  been  kept  so  busy  that  I  could  not  manage 
it.  As  I  told  you  in  my  last,  I  have  been  Refectorian,  and 
my  offices  lasted  a  month.     For  two  weeks  I  was  third  as- 

178 


THE  JESUIT  NOVICE. 

sistant  and  then  promoted  to  first,  which  is  much  more  re- 
sponsible. I  had  no  leisure  at  all  to  speak  of ;  none  for  writ- 
ing letters,  for  one  always  has  certain  odds  and  ends  that 
can't  be  put  off".  Upon  the  whole,  now  that  once  more  I  am 
comparatively  free,  I  rather  enjoyed  being  in  the  refectory. 
It  is  a  complete  change,  as  one  does  not  follow  the  ordinary 
exercises,  but  devotes  all  one's  attention  to  the  preparation 
for  meals.  But  do>  not  think  by  this  that  we  spend  all  our  time 
eating.  There  are  only  the  ordinary  three  meals  a  day,  with 
the  addition  of  coffee  at  5  o'clock  to  brighten  us  up  a  little 
for  our  meditation  at  6.  Meditations  are  never  dispensed 
with ;  there  is  always  the  hour  in  the  morning,  the  half-hour 
in  the  evening,  and  the  usual  quarter-hour  at  mid-day  and 
at  night  for  the  examination  of  conscience  to  see  what  falls 
we  have  had  and  what  progress  we  have  made,  and  to  make 
resolutions  for  the  future.  Every  one  has  to  allow  full  time 
to  these,  and  to  Mass  in  the  morning  and  Litanies  in  the 
evening ;  so  you  see  no  matter  what  office  one  has,  the  most 
important  spiritual  duties  are  always  insisted  upon.  Besides 
this,  for  half  an  hour  before  supper  the  first  Refectorian 
reads  aloud  for  the  lay  brothers  in  the  kitchen  from  some 
life  of  a  saint  or  chapters  of  the  Imitation  of  Christ,  while 
they  are  busy  peeling  apples,  cutting  toast,  etc.  It  was  always 
a  very  pleasant  half  hour.  I  used  to  get  very  much  flurried  at 
first  in  my  office,  but  the  last  week  I  got  quite  accustomed  to 
it.  It  is  rather  trying,  as  you  have  so  many  bothering  you  at 
the  same  time.  For  instance,  in  the  morning  about  ten 
novices  are  sent  down  to  help  you,  and  you  have  to  assign 
each  a  task  and  see  that  they  do  it  properly.  They  only  stay 
twenty  minutes  and  do  only  part  of  the  work,  and  then  you 
and  your  regular  assistants  have  to  supply  all  deficiencies, 
which  is  sometimes  more  troublesome  than  if  you  did  the 

179 


LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN    RENSSELAER 

whole  thing  yourself.  At  meals  I  had  to  stand  at  a  large 
table  just  outside  the  refectory  door  and  give  out  all  the 
dishes  which  came  from  the  kitchen  on  a  kind  of  turnstile, 
a  one-storied  dumb  waiter ;  see  that  the  servers  got  the  right 
dishes  and  then  pile  up  all  the  plates  as  they  were  brought 
out  used,  collecting  the  knives,  forks  and  spoons,  and  putting 
them  into  partitions  in  a  box  to  be  washed  and  then  sending 
the  plates  to  the  scullery.  When  sixty  sit  down  to  a  meal,  a 
good  deal  has  to  pass  through  your  hands.  But  this  is  not 
all,  for  as  soon  as  the  first  dinner  is  over,  three  minutes  are 
allowed  to  prepare  the  tables  for  a  second  dinner  of 
thirty  people.  This  has  to  be  done  in  an  awful  hurry-scurry, 
and  then  I  sit  down  to  this  second  meal.  Such  are  the  princi- 
pal points  of  what  I  have  been  undergoing,  and  you  can 
imagine  that  there  is  a  good  deal  of  anxiety  lest  something 
be  forgotten,  and  it  is  quite  a  relief  to  be  once  more  at  the 
usual  routine,  in  comparative  quiet,  and  with  some  spare 
moments. 

"  I  had  a  task  given  me  directly  after  my  time  in  the  re- 
fectory, for  my  turn  came  to  give  a  tone  or  short  sermon 
before  the  novices.  The  text  was,  '  That  no  man  overreach 
or  circumvent  his  brother  in  business.'  It  is  rather  a  diffi- 
cult text,  and  I  had  only  a  short  time  to  prepare,  as  the  warn- 
ing is  given  on  Sunday  morning  to  preach  on  Monday,  with 
only  the  spare  moments  to  prepare  for  the  ordeal.  It  has  to 
be  extempore  and  I  got  very  much  confused  and  nervous, 
but  I  managed  to  scramble  through  with  two  awful  pauses. 
But  enough  of  myself ;  too  much,  I  fear. 

"  Your  devoted  son, 

"  Harry." 

180 


THE  JESUIT  NOVICE. 
"  Manresa  House, 

"  roehampton, 
"  Feast  of  the  Annunciation,  1879. 
"My  Dearest  Mother  : 

" .  .  .1  am  glad  the  cold  weather  is  on  the  wane,  as 
it  is  trying  in  Lent.  They  take  great  care  of  us,  and  do  not 
allow  any  extravagances  in  fasting.  Every  one  has  to  con- 
sult the  doctor  to  see  if  he  have  strength;  if  not,  only  a 
little  mortification  of  one's  appetite,  which  couldn't  hurt 
anyone,  is  permitted. 

"  This  season  has  gone,  so  far,  very  quickly,  and  Holy 
Week  will  soon  be  here.  I  expect  to  enjoy  it  very  much,  as 
we  shall  have  interesting  services  in  our  chapel  and  plenty 
of  singing.  I  have  been  promoted  to  singing  in  the  choir, 
which  adds  much  to  my  pleasure,  and  we  have  been  busily 
practising  for  some  time  for  the  Holy  Week  services.  I 
should  like  you  to  hear  them,  for  they  are  very  well  done. 
I  am  one  of  the  basses,  and  it  is  interesting  to  sing  a  part 
and  quite  a  novelty  for  me,  as  I  have  been  accustomed  to 
having  it  all  my  own  way. 

"  What  a  beautiful  feast  to-day  is,  and  yet^  not  coming  on 
a  Sunday,  it  does  not  receive  as  much  attention  as  it  de- 
serves ;  for  what  is  the  festival  of  the  Annunciation  but  the 
beginning  of  the  Incarnation  of  Our  Lord  ?  We  are  apt  to 
think  of  it  as  the  time  when  the  announcement  was  made  to 
the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  to  forget  that  when  she  gave  her 
consent  and  said,  '  Be  it  done  unto  me  according  to  Thy 
word,'    immediatelv    the    Holy    Ghost    overshadowed    her, 

181 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

and  she  conceived  and  became  the  Mother  of  God.  I  know  . 
that  I  myself  never  used  to  connect  Our  Lord's  conception 
with  the  Annunciation;  in  fact  I  never  used  to  think  very 
much  about  it,  and  only  contented  myself  with  generalities 
and  did  not  realize  as  much  of  the  mystery  as  is  possible  for 
us  and  which  we  are  bound  to  do.  For  what  can  be  of 
greater  importance  and  interest  to  Christians  than  all  that  is 
connected  with  the  life  of  Our  Lord  on  the  earth,  and  His 
death  and  risen  life  ?  All  these  are  mentioned  in  the  beauti- 
ful collect  of  the  feast,  which  is  used  by  us  three  times  a  day 
at  the  Angelus,  as  I  remember  telling  you,  as  the  memorial 
of  the  Incarnation. 

"  I  think  I  said  in  my  last  letter  that  I  am  no  longer  in  the 
refectory,  but  have  no  office  at  present,  taking  things  easy. 
The  object,  you  know,  of  offices  is  not  to  get  work  out  of 
us,  but  to  teach  us  to  be  able  to  do  anything  useful,  and  to 
learn  how  to  manage  for  oneself  if  in  command,  or  how 
to  obey  if  under  another. 

"  Your  devoted  son, 

"  Harry." 

"  Manresa  House, 

"  roehampton. 

"  Easter  Monday,  April  13.  1879. 

"My  Dearest  Mother  : 

"  I  will  begin  by  wishing  you  all  the  Easter  joys,  and  what 
joys  can  compare  with  them  ?    Not  even  Christmas  can  equal 

182 


THE  JESUIT  NOVICE. 

Easter,  for  it  is  the  completion  of  what  was  begun  at  Christ- 
mas, and  is  the  pledge  of  our  own  resurrection.  Lent  has 
passed  rather  quickly,  the  last  week  especially,  because  we 
were  very  busy  preparing  for  the  musical  part  of  the  services. 
Everything  went  off  very  successfully,  the  music  was  well 
rendered  and  was  well  chosen.  On  Wednesday,  Thursday 
and  Friday  we  had  the  Tenebrae,  which  consists  of  a  beauti- 
ful selection  of  Psalms  and  Antiphons,  together  with  lessons 
and  the  lamentations  of  Jeremiah,  with  appropriate  re- 
sponses. Everything  was  sung  without  accompaniment,  the 
responses  and  antiphons  in  harmony,  as  well  as  the  '  Bene- 
dictus  '  and  the  '  Miserere.'  At  the  close  of  the  service  the 
choir  sang  an  anthem,  '  Christ  was  made  obedient  unto 
death,'  which  was  very  touching.  On  Maundy  Thursday 
we  had  a  fine  service  in  commemoration  of  the  Institution  of 
the  Holy  Eucharist.  On  Good  Friday  we  went  to  our  church 
in  London  for  the  Three  Hours'  service  between  12  and  3. 
The  time  passed  so  quickly  that  I  could  scarcely  believe  that 
we  had  been  really  three  hours  in  church.  One  reason  was 
that  there  was  a  great  deal  of  variety,  and  we  were  not  kept 
long  in  any  one  position.  The  choir  would  sing  an  anthem, 
and  then  an  address  on  one  of  the  seven  last  words  of  Our 
Lord  would  follow,  then  some  prayers,  with  responses  by  the 
people.  It  was  very  impressive  and  devotional.  There  were 
no  drawbacks,  everything  went  smoothly  and  we  were  most 
punctual,  going  in  as  the  clock  struck  twelve  and  coming  out 
exactly  at  three.  There  was  an  overflowing  congregation, 
who  were  most  attentive  and  stayed  right  through  from  be- 
ginning to  end.  Yesterday  we  went  again  to  our  church, 
in  Farm  Street,  for  Vespers,  and  had  a  beautiful  service. 
One  feels  on  Easter  day  inclined  to  shout  for  joy. 

"  We  are  taking  things  easy  this  week:  at  least  we  are 

183 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

supposed  to  do  so,  but  there  is  a  great  deal  of  walking,  which 
sometimes  is  more  tiring  than  anything  else.  I  have  come 
out  from  Lent  in  the  best  possible  health,  without  a  cold  or 
an  ache.  The  weather  is  cold  and  disagreeable  for  this 
season. 

"  It  is  a  consolation  that  after  all  we  can  be  so  near  in 
spirit  and  thought  to  those  we  love,  as  to  imagine  almost 
exactly  what  is  taking  place  even  three  thousand  miles  away, 
for  we  can  travel  over  space  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye. 
Hereafter  when  we  shall  have  glorified  bodies  at  the  resur- 
rection, even  our  bodies  will  overcome  all  the  obstacles  that 
now  keep  us  confined,  just  as  Our  Lord  could  pass  through 
the  sealed  stone  of  the  sepulchre  or  the  closed  doors  of  the 
upper  chamber  where  the  Apostles  were  assembled.  In  the 
meanwhile  it  is  a  comfort  to  be  able  to  be  so  near  one  another 
in  spirit. 

"  With  best  love  and  Easter  greetings  to  all, 

"  I  am  your  devoted  son, 

"  H.  V.  R." 

"  Manresa  House, 

"  roehampton, 

"  London,  S.W.,  May  7,  1879. 

"  My  Dearest  Mother  : 

".  .  .1  hope  you  have  been  more  fortunate  in 
weather  than  we  have  been,  for  May  has  not,  so  far,  de- 
served its  name  at  all,  but  is  much  more  like  March,  altho' 

184 


THE  JESUIT  NOVICE. 

we  had  our  full  share  of  March  winds,  too.  The  famous 
east  wind  has  been  blowing  pretty  steadily  even  this  month. 
Everything  in  consequence  is  dreadfully  backward ;  the  trees 
have  only  begun  to  bud  this  last  week,  but  unfortunately 
there  have  been  little  flurries  of  hail  and  snow  which  will 
injure  the  blossoms  of  the  fruit  trees  which  have  just  strug- 
gled out.  The  cuckoo  has  been  singing  that  springtime  is 
near,  but  this  year  he  has  been  mistaken.  We  have  a  cuckoo 
living  close  to  the  house ;  in  fact,  there  are  birds  of  all  kinds 
in  the  neighborhood  and  they  furnish  plenty  of  music.  In 
summer  there  are  nightingales,  they  say,  but  they  are  such 
late  birds,  and  we  such  early  ones,  that  I  doubt  if  we  ever 
hear  them.  They  don't  begin  to  sing  until  ten,  and  about 
that  time  we  begin  to  snore. 

"  Our  life  here  is  so  regular  that  one  week  is  very 
like  another  unless  some  feast  day  happens  to  break  the 
monotony — monotony  I  mean  in  a  good  sense  and  not 
tedium. 

"  I  took  a  long  walk  on  Sunday  afternoon  to  hear  Ves- 
pers at  the  Carmelite  Church.  It  must  have  been  nearly 
twelve  miles  altogether,  but  it  was  a  very  pleasant  day,  warm 
and  sunny,  and  the  road  rather  a  pretty  one,  and  I  had  a 
chance  to  rest  during  the  service.  I  feel  at  home  in  that 
church  particularly,  because  I  know  one  of  the  Fathers,  and 
used  to  go  there  last  year.  They  have  a  foreign  congregation, 
and  a  good  many  of  the  diplomats  and  others  attend." 

"  May  9th. 

"  I  had  to  stop  and  have  not  had  a  chance  to  finish  until 
now,  when  I  have  a  few  minutes.  I  have  been  busy  pre- 
paring for  a  catechising  which   I   had  to  give  before  the 

185 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

novices  and  one  of  the  Fathers.  My  subject  was  Confirma- 
tion, and  I  primed  myself  thoroughly  so  that  I  got  through 
very  well,  only  being  criticized  as  being  too  learned  and 
giving  too  many  authorities.  It  is  rather  hard  to  treat  as 
children  grown  men  who  know  as  much  about  the  subject 
as  you  do  yourself.  And  yet  that  is  what  we  are  supposed 
to  do  in  order  to  get  a  facility  in  asking  questions  as  simply 
as  possible  and  to  explain  in  short  and  easy  words.  Usually 
a  story  of  some  kind  is  told  to  enliven  the  young  ones.  We 
get  another  chance  at  story-telling  every  evening,  for  there 
is  always  a  pious  story  with  a  good  moral  at  our  recreation 
and  each  one  has  his  turn.  I  told  one  very  apropos  the 
other  evening. 

"  We  are  all  busy  this  month  in  preparing  sermons,  as 
each  one  has  to  preach  before  the  community  at  supper 
time.  As  many  of  the  novices  seem  to  be  trusting  mainly 
to  books,  I  selected  an  instance  in  St.  Vincent  Ferrer's  life. 
He  was  a  great  Dominican  preacher  and  missionary,  and  a 
very  holy  man.  One  day  he  was  told  that  a  distinguished 
nobleman  was  coming  to  hear  him  preach.  The  saint  usually 
relied  principally  upon  prayer  for  his  sermons,  but  on  this 
occasion,  departing  from  his  custom,  he  gave  the  time  to 
extra  study.  The  consequence  was  that  he  did  not  preach 
as  well  as  usual,  and  the  nobleman  went  home  disappointed. 
However,  he  went  another  time  unannounced  and  was  de- 
lighted. This  was  told  St.  Vincent,  who  replied :  '  No 
wonder,  for  the  first  time  he  heard  Vincent  preach,  but  this 
time  it  was  Jesus  Christ,  Himself.'  It  is  a  pretty  anecdote, 
is  it  not?  But  I  must  stop.  With  best  love  for  everybody 
and  most  for  yourself, 

"  Ever  your  devoted  son, 

"Harry." 
186 


ELIZABETH     RAY     KING 
MOTHER  OF  REV.   HENRY  VAN   RENSSELAER 


THE  JESUIT  NOVICE. 

"  Manresa  House, 

"  roehampton, 

"  August  17,  1879. 
"  My  Dearest  Mother  : 

"  Many  happy  returns  of  your  birthday ;  not  such  happi- 
ness as  the  world  can  give  or  appreciate,  but  true  and  solid, 
which  can  come  from  God  alone,  and  which  consists  in  grow- 
ing in  the  deeper  knowledge  of  Our  Lord  and  of  the  end  for 
which  we  were  created — to  serve,  praise  and  reverence  Him. 
Few  people,  when  really  brought  face  to  face  with  this 
truth,  will  deny  it,  but  at  the  same  time  they  do  practically 
deny  or  at  least  ignore  it.  Look  at  their  lives,  how  perfectly 
aimless  they  seem,  unless  one  can  call  that  the  aim  of  their 
life  to  which  they  devote  most  of  their  time,  energy,  atten- 
tion and  money.  And  what  a  waste  of  time  it  will  seem  to 
them  when  they  are  called  upon  to  give  an  account  of  their 
lives.  Vanity  of  vanities,  indeed!  Yet,  with  the  best  of  in- 
tentions, how  hard  it  is  for  us  to  keep  really  before  our 
eyes  the  object  of  our  being!  We  so  crave  after  happiness 
that  we  practically  do  make  it  our  aim,  and  so  in  the  real 
sense  it  is  happiness,  but  only  that  which  comes  from  doing 
God's  will  as  well  as  we  can.  What  happiness,  what  satis- 
faction, when  we  can  say  and  feel  after  something  we  have 
done,  that  our  intention  was  purely  God's  glory !  Too  often 
some  vanity,  self-seeking  or  other  motive  has  crept  in  to 
take  away  the  merit  of  the  action,  or  at  least  tarnish  its 
lustre.  The  greater  glory  of  God  is  our  motto,  this 
the  object,  the  summing  up  of  our  lives.  This  will  be  the 
standard  bv  which  we  shall  be  judged,  and  is  it  not  a  glori- 

187 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

ous  one,  too?  The  glory  of  God,  who  laid  aside  the  glory 
which  he  had  with  His  Father  before  the  creation  of  the 
world.  He  abased  Himself  and  we  must  exalt  Him.  He 
led  the  way  and  we  must  follow  Him ;  the  way  of  the  cross 
is  the  only  way  that  leads  to  true  happiness.  We  may  have 
the  cross  laid  upon  us  or  we  may  take  it  upon  ourselves  of 
our  own  accord.  It  is  a  great  consolation  for  those  whose 
lot  lies  in  home  duties,  to  think  of  Our  Lord's  life  at  Naza- 
reth with  His  Mother  and  St.  Joseph.  What  quiet  and 
apparently  uneventful  lives  they  led  for  thirty  years;  to 
human  eyes  St.  Joseph  seemed  only  the  carpenter;  the 
Mother  of  God  only  his  wife;  and  Our  Lord  Himself  only 
the  carpenter's  son.  Truly  it  matters  very  little  what  the 
world  thinks  of  us,  what  opinion  it  passes  upon  us.  We 
are  living  not  for  it  and  its  judgment,  nor  can  it  appreciate 
pure  motives.  So  it  often  happens  that  those  who  are  con- 
sidered unfortunate  are  very  far  from  being  so ;  for  the  trials 
they  have  undergone  have  been  so  many  means  of  grace, 
means  of  bringing  them  nearer  their  Divine  Model,  who 
was  the  Man  of  Sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief.  Really, 
one's  own  experience  tells  one  that  frequently  in  penitential 
seasons  of  the  church  we  have  more  true  peace  and  comfort 
than  at  the  greater  festivals,  which  often  bring  with  them 
dissipation  of  heart,  and  we  do  not  feel  as  near  Our  Lord 
as  when  kneeling  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross.  Then  we  throw 
ourselves,  as  it  were,  upon  Him  for  support,  for  we  feel  our 
weakness  and  need  His  sympathy,  and  with  such  disposi- 
tions we  can  never  fail  to  touch  His  Sacred  Heart  ever  open 
to  the  sighs  of  His  children. 

"  I  wish  that  I  could  drop  in  upon  you  now  and  then  to 
have  a  little  chat.  Letters  are  so  unsatisfactory ;  one  never 
says  what  one  wants  to,  but  very  often  does  the  reverse. 

188 


THE  JESUIT  NOVICE. 

I  hope  I  have  not  done  so  this  time.     At  any  rate  you  will 
understand  me  aright.  You  are  always  much  in  my  thoughts. 
With  best  wishes,  I  am,  my  dearest  mother, 
"  Your  devoted  son, 

"  Henry  Van  Rensselaer." 

"  Manresa  House, 

"  Roehampton, 

"  November  16,  1879. 
"  My  Dearest  Mother  : 

" .  .  .  Last  Thursday  was  a  great  day  with  us — the 
feast  of  our  Patron,  St.  Stanislaus  Kostka.  He  is  the  patron 
saint  of  all  novices,  because  he  died  a  novice,  when  he  was 
only  eighteen  years  old.  As  the  Church  says  of  him  in  the 
collect  for  his  day.  Almighty  God  had  bestowed  on  him 
in  tender  youth  the  grace  of  mature  sanctity.  He  is  the 
Patron  of  Poland,  and  one  of  the  most  popular  of  saints, 
especially  among  the  young.  I  daresay  you  recollect  seeing 
some  frescoes  representing  scenes  in  his  life  in  Our  Church 
in  Montreal. 

"  It  was  a  day  for  long  walks — sunny,  though  cold.  Bro. 
Sherman  and  another  and  I  thought  we  should  spend  our 
morning  profitably  by  paying  a  visit  to  Nazareth  House,  a 
home  for  aged  men  and  women  and  homeless  children.  It 
is  under  the  care  of  Sisters  very  like  the  Little  Sisters  of 
the  Poor.  We  were  delighted  with  everything  we  saw, 
were  very  kindly  received,  and  the  Mother  General  of  the 
Order  showed  us  all  over  the  establishment.  Everything 
was  in  the  most  exquisite  order.  Each  bed  had  a  many- 
colored    patch-work    spread1   and    looked   comfortable   and 

189 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

cheery.  The  old  people  said  that  nothing  could  exceed 
the  kindness  of  the  Sisters,  and  there  were  some  Protestants 
who  told  me  the  same.  The  Sisters,  many  of  them  of  good 
family,  do  all  the  work  themselves,  and  live  entirely  on  what 
they  get  by  alms.  Their  food  consists  of  scraps  which  they 
beg.  One  cannot  imagine  happier,  more  contented  and 
gayer  people  than  these  Sisters,  who  are  brimful  of  charity 
and  zeal.  There  were  children  either  idiotic  or  nearly  so, 
but  I  was  glad  to  see  them  in  such  a  home.  We  went  away- 
very  much  edified,  and  thankful  that  there  are  so  many  de- 
voted people  who  were  glad  to  leave  the  world  and  what  it 
can  give  in  the  way  of  pleasures,  and  live  a  life  of  hard  work 
and  service  for  the  bodies  of  others  that  they  may  save  their 
souls.  When  we  got  back  to  Manresa  House  we  had  a 
panegyric  of  our  Saint  by  one  of  the  novices;  then  came 
Benediction  and  afterwards  dinner  with  conversation.  In 
the  evening  there  was  a  seance  in  which  the  choir  figured 
by  singing  several  glees.  Brother  Sherman  composed  and 
read  a  very  pretty  poem  on  the  bell  which  announces  our 
duties.  As  he  had  the  office  of  ringing  it  as  beadle  not  long 
ago,  he  could  speak  feelingly.  There  were  some  other 
poems  and  readings,  and  altogether  we  enjoyed  ourselves 
very  much.  The  choir  have  been  kept  very  busy  of  late 
getting  ready  the  glees  for  the  seance,  and  besides  that  we 
sing  Vespers  in  our  own  chapel  every  Sunday  afternoon; 
we  have  also  to  prepare  new  music  for  Christmas,  which 
will  be  upon  us  before  we  know  it. 

"  Love  to  everybody,  much  for  yourself, 

"  Your  devoted  son, 

"H.  V.  R" 
190 


THE  JESUIT  NOVICE. 

"  Manresa  House, 

"  roehampton,  s.  w., 

"  April  22,  1880. 
"  My  Dearest  Mother: 

"  The  weeks  have  been  slipping  by  so  quickly  and  un- 
eventfully that  I  can  hardly  keep  any  track  of  my  letters. 
We  are  having  most  lovely  weather  now,  for  it  is  full  spring. 
The  country  is  delightful.     How  thankful  I  am  to  be  able  to 
enjoy  it !   With  all  the  helps  that  the  beauties  of  nature  give, 
one  ought  to  live  more  in  God's  presence  in  the  country' than 
in  the  city.     Everything  is  so  peaceful  and  fitted  to  raising 
one's  thoughts  from  earth  to  heaven,  yet  I  doubt  if  country 
people  are  as  religious  as  the  city  people ;  perhaps  the  latter 
feel  more  need  of  God's  help  than  the  others ;  still  we  can- 
not help  feeling  how  weak  man  is  when  we  see  the  changes 
of  nature.     What  can  he  do?     Nothing;  not  even  force  a 
blade  of  grass  to  grow;  and   so  a  lesson  of  humility  is 
preached  by  every  blade  of  grass  and  every  tiny  flower.  But 
it  is  a  lesson  we  do  not  heed,  it  is  so  contrary  to  our  wishes 
and  inclinations.     We  make  up  our  mind  to  praise  and  ad- 
mire humility  as  a  virtue ;  when,  however,  it  is  urged  upon 
us,  we  rebel.     Why  is  it  that  so  many  thousands  who  call 
themselves  Christians,  and  profess  to  be  followers  of  the 
Crucified,  cannot  bear  the  sight  of  a  picture  which  repre- 
sents Our  Lord  crucified,  much  less  a  carved  crucifix?     It 
is  simply  because  it  pictures  to  them  too  readily  and  vividly 
what  their  Captain  and  Leader  has  done  and  suffered,  and 
what  He  expects  of  them.     They  are  not  prepared  for  any 
such  imitation  of  Christ  as  this.     They  do  not  object  to 

191 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

reading  about  it,  but  that  is  enough.  You  see  how  a 
blade  of  grass  has  carried  me  off.  Still,  we  can  never 
think  enough  about  our  own  weakness  and  what  should  arise 
out  of  the  consideration  of  it — what  we  should  be, 
humble  and  ready  to  accept  what  Almighty  God  proposes 
to  us. 

"  What  a  dreadful  state  of  things  in  France !  One  must 
always  hope  for  a  turn  of  the  scales,  there  are  so  many  ups 
and  downs  in  that  changeable  country.  I  am  glad  there  is 
such  a  unity  of  action  among  all  the  religious  orders  and  all 
the  Bishops ;  they  realize  the  truth  that  it  is  religion  that  is 
being  attacked  and  not  any  one  Order  in  the  Church.  It  is 
certainly  a  strange  Republic  where  there  is  no  freedom.  We 
have  had  some  very  good  music  lately,  though  I  say  it  who 
shouldn't,  being  in  the  choir.  We  have  been  singing  one  of 
Gounod's  Masses.  We  also  had  a  seance  in  honor  of  the 
Provincial,  who  has  been  making  his  visitation.  We  sang 
"  The  Storm."  To-day,  the  23d,  is  St.  George's  Day,  and  is 
a  holiday,  which  gives  me  a  chance  of  writing.  I  have  also 
a  sermon  on  hand  which  I  must  preach  on  the  12th  of  May. 
My  ideas  do  not  flow  as  I  should  like.  I  wish  you  would 
get  '  Christian  Schools  and  Scholars.'  It  is  a  charming 
book,  giving  an  excellent  and  pleasant  picture  of  the  early 
and  middle  age  Christianity.  It  is  not  a  controversial  work 
at  all,  merely  historical.  They  are  really  dark  ages  because 
most  people  know  so  little  about  them,  but  it  is  astonishing 
to  find  how  bright  the  true  light  shone  in  those  rude 
times.      .      .      .  " 

"  Ever  your  devoted  son, 

"  Henry  Van  Rensselaer." 
192 


THE  JESUIT  NOVICE. 

Van  Rensselaer's  stay  in  England  was  drawing  to  a  close. 
Under  the  strict  discipline  of  the  novitiate,  he  had  become  a 
new  man  with  new  ideals,  new  aspirations,  new  impulses, 
and  new  ways  of  thinking  and  acting.  This  mental  and 
spiritual  development,  or  rather  transformation,  is  shown 
in  a  letter  written  while  still  a  first  year  novice : — 

"  The  time  is  slipping  away,  a  time  of  much  grace.  The 
saying  is,  that  the  height  of  sanctity  to>  which  we  aspire  in 
the  noviceship  will  be  the  highest  to  which  we  shall  ever 
aspire  in  after  life;  so  we  must  aim  now  at  nothing  short  of 
being  saints,  however  impossible  that  may  now  seem.  After 
all,  what  is  a  saint  but  one  who  so  fully  corresponds  to  the 
grace  given  him  that  he  merits  more  and  more?  It  is  simply 
acting  up  to  our  vocation  and  the  abundant  graces  given  to 
us.  *  Pensons  au  ciel  et  nous  aurons  le  courage  d'etre  fideles 
a  Dieu  quoiqu'il  en  coute.'  This  motto  was  on  a  signet  that 
a  fellow-pilgrim  to  Paray-le-Monial  gave  me,  and  if  we  did 
but  keep  the  end  in  view,  all  would  seem  very  plain." 

The  progress  he  made  in  the  knowledge  and  practice  of 
spiritual  things  was  such  that  he  could  now  be  entrusted 
with  the  guidance  of  other  souls,  and  in  the  last  letter  from 
Roehampton,  he  writes  enthusiastically  of  a  work  of  this 
nature  committed  to  his  charge. 


"  May,  1880. 

"  I  have  a  delightful  task  at  present,  to  unfold  the  relig- 
ious life  to  two  lay-brother  postulants;  they  are  both  con- 
verts of  two  years'  standing,  but  totally  unlike ;  both  very 

193 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  VAN   RENSSELAER 

good,  and  earnest,  and  teachable.  It  is  most  humiliating  to 
speak  to  them  of  high  ideals  and  perfection,  and  then  to 
realize  how  far  short  one  is  oneself.  But  it  is  most  in- 
spiriting to  feel  that  one  is  really  helping  others.  I  have 
had  a  great  increase  of  love  for  the  Spiritual  Exercises  of 
St.  Ignatius.  I  have  been  reading  the  life  of  Father  de 
Ponlevoy,  the  author  of  de  Ravignan's  life,  and  his  inti- 
mate friend.  They  were  both  men  of  the  Exercises ;  every- 
thing they  did  or  said  was  influenced  by  them.  This  is  my 
aim,  as  it  should  be  that  of  every  Jesuit.  Father  Morris  has 
been  a  great  help  to  me.  He  has  been  away  for  two  weeks 
giving  a  mission  at  Arundel.  His  place  was  taken  by 
Father  Purbrick,  for  many  years  Rector  of  Stonyhurst.  He 
is  a  convert,  an  Oxford  man,  the  most  perfect  gentleman 
I  ever  saw,  most  spiritual,  most  humble,  most  talented. 
There  is  a  paragon.     His  short  rule  was  a  delightful  one." 


194 


CHAPTER  XI. 
Woodstock  College. 

VAN  RENSSELAER  returned  to  America  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1880,  with  two  other  Americans,  his  fellow 
novices  at  Roehampton,  Thomas  Sherman,  a  son  of  Gen. 
William  Tecumseh  Sherman,  and  Thomas  Kernan,  a  son 
of  Senator  Kernan  of  New  York.  After  a  brief  stay  at 
St.  Francis  Xavier's,  New  York  City,  Van  Rensselaer,  as 
he  was  still  a  novice,  went  on  to  the  novitiate  of  the  Mary- 
land-New York  Province,  at  Frederick,  Md. 

A  few  days  after  his  arrival  at  the  novitiate  he  wrote  to 
his  sister,  Mrs.  George  Waddington: 

"  Novitiate, 

"  Frederick  City,  Md. 

"  August  1,  1880. 
"  My  Dear  Bessie  : 

" .  .  .1  had  a  pleasant  visit  in  New  York,  although 
I  found  the  family  very  much  scattered.  I  am  convinced 
that  it  is  unadvisable  in  religious  questions  to  say  anything 
aggressive.  Try  to  let  people  know  what  the  true  religion 
is  and  then  leave  the  rest  to  God.  We,  having  the  truth  on 
our  side,  can  always  speak  with  authority,  and  this  is  peculiar 
to  the  Catholic  Church.  I  found  on  the  steamer  that  when 
one  inquired  into  what  people  believed  in  their  hearts,  it 

195 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

amounted  to  Universalism — that  God  is  very  good  and  mer- 
ciful and  will  not  condemn.  They  called  themselves  Presby- 
terians, and  Episcopalians,  and  free  thinkers ;  there  was  much 
they  had  in  common,  the  rest  they  considered  merely 
external  forms.  As  I  look  back  now  on  our  trip,  I  think  we 
wasted  time ;  for  several  days  we  kept  quite  aloof  until  people 
began  to  question  us,  and  even  then  we  were  rather  on  the 
defensive.  Father  Pardow,  who  was  our  leader,  told  me 
not  to  be  shy  in  talking,  but  to  improve  my  opportunities, 
so  then  I  set  to  work,  and  having  had  experience  in  religious 
matters  I  discovered  in  myself  a  certain  power.  In  the  end 
I  talked  quite  openly,  though  in  the  beginning  everyone 
warned  everyone  else  against  us,  and  a  third  person  invaria- 
bly would  come  up  to  try  to  interfere.  The  captain  regu- 
larly walked  off  with  two  ladies  who  wished  to  talk  with 
me,  and  naturally  I  was  at  a  disadvantage  because  I  could 
not  walk  up  and  down  the  deck  with  ladies.  In  the  end, 
however,  I  won  over  the  captain ;  he  and  I  became  excellent 
friends,  and  he  entered  into  a  compact  not  to  interfere.  Peo- 
ple respect  you  much  more  if  you  talk  to  them  up  and  down 
without  fear. 

"  I  am  delighted  with  the  Jesuits  I  have  met  in  America. 
They  have  overwhelmed  us  with  kindness.  I  spent  a  few 
hours  at  Woodstock  en  route,  and  was  charmed.  I  will  tell 
you  more  about  it  when  I  go  there  in  September.  Frederick 
is  a  great  contrast  to  Roehampton ;  there  is  something  very 
gentle  and  sympathetic  about  the  Fathers  and  novices  here. 
Xot  that  they  were  not  good  and  kind  in  England,  but  John 
Bull  has  his  peculiarities.  It  is  pleasant  to  be  in  a  religious 
habit,  rosary  and  all.  The  Roehampton  novices  lose  much  by 
not  wearing  the  habit.  Here  the  novices  are  wonderfully 
edifying. 

196 


WOODSTOCK  COLLEGE. 

"  I  shall  enjoy  my  month  in  this  place  immensely.  The 
scenery  in  the  neighborhood  is  beautiful,  but  best  of  all  there 
is  here  a  wonderful  spirit  of  charity  and  gentleness;  just 
what  I  need  and  hope  to  get,  for  my  late  experience  on  the 
ship  tells  me  that  what  people  yearn  for  is  sympathy  and 
kindness. 

"  Ever  your  devoted  brother, 

"  Henry  Van  Rensselaer,  S.J. 

In  the  beginning  of  September  he  reported  for  his  studies 
in  philosophy  at  Woodstock,  Md.,  where  he  was  to  spend 
three  fruitful  and  happy  years.  On  the  approach  of  the 
Feast  of  All  Saints,  he  returned  to  Frederick  to  take  his 
first  vows  as  a  Jesuit  Scholastic.  The  interruption  was  a 
brief  one,  for  it  was  from  Woodstock  College  that  he  wrote 
the  following  letter : 

"  Woodstock, 

"  November  2,  1880. 

"  I  have  had  the  great  happiness  of  taking  the  vows.  I 
went  down  to  Frederick  on  Saturday  afternoon,  spent  Sun- 
day in  recollection  and  silence,  and  then  on  Monday  in  the 
domestic  chapel,  took  my  vows  before  the  Community.  Just 
think,  I  had  about  thirty  Masses  said  for  me  that  day,  be- 
sides many  receiving  Holy  Communion  for  my  intention. 
There  is  such  a  beautiful  feeling  of  charity  in  the  Society. 
I  like  this  quotation  very  much  and  it  has  made  a  great  im- 
pression on  me :  '  Petit  sacrifice,  petit  bonheur ;  grand  sac- 
rifice, grand  bonheur;  sacrifice  complet,  bonheur  complet.'  ' 

197 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  VAN   RENSSELAER 

Most  of  the  subjoined  letters  were  addressed  to  his 
sister,  who  shortly  after  her  conversion  had  been  enrolled 
among  the  Daughters  of  Charity  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul. 
On  the  Feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  1880,  he  writes  : 

"  I  do  not  know  that  I  have  ever  spent  a  happier  feast, 
except  perhaps  All  Saints,  and  this  was  a  breathing  of  the 
same  air.  We  had  our  half-yearly  renovation  of  vows. 
What  the  Society  wishes  is  homo  in  vita  spirituali  perfec- 
tus,  and  for  this,  great  talents  are  not  necessary,  thank 
God,  else  I  might  despair  of  attaining  it,  for  I  shall  never 
shine  as  a  learned  man,  nor  do  I  regret  it  much.  It  has  many 
dangers  which  I  shall  be  spared.  Let  us  desire  better  gifts, 
for  desire  paves  the  way." 

The  Christmas  holidays  brought  with  them  welcome  re- 
laxation from  the  study  of  dialectics  and  abstruse  meta- 
physics.    He  writes : — 

"  Woodstock  College, 

"  December  27,  1880. 

"  What  a  delightful  season  this  is !  How  one's  heart  over- 
flows with  love  and  gratitude  to  the  God  who  cares  so 
tenderly  for  His  ungrateful  creatures !  This  has  been  a  very 
happy  season  for  me ;  we  are  like  a  large,  yet  united  family, 
rejoicing  with  holy  simplicity  in  our  little  pleasures.  We 
have  had  several  entertainments,  one  most  amusing,  some 
acting  Scrooge  and  Marley  in  Dickens'  *  Christmas  Story.' 
The  parts  were  capitally  taken,  and  we  laughed  ourselves 
hoarse.    Last  night  we  had  a  Christmas  tree  with  a  present 

198 


WOODSTOCK  COLLEGE. 

drawn  by  lot  for  everybody,  so  that  one  got  generally  just 
the  wrong  thing— a  non-smoker,  for  instance,  would  be  sure 
to  receive  a  pipe,  etc.  Some  amusing  things  were  said  very 
apropos,  and  a  clever  local  poem  read.  On  Wednesday  we 
are  to  have  Father  Ryan,  the  poet-priest,  for  our  guest;  he 
has  a  poem  for  the  occasion,  and  there  will  be  others  from 
Ours,  as  we  have  several  poets  among  us.  The  choir  have 
sever'al  fine  glees  ready,  so  altogether  we  expect  a  pleasant 
evening.  I  have  enjoyed  singing  in  the  Christmas  choir  and 
in  the  glees.  It  is  my  greatest  amusement.  You  see  by  this 
that  we  are  quite  a  lively  set  of  people,  in  fact,  the  lightest- 
hearted  in  the  world,  I  believe." 

A  month  later  his  letter  takes  on  a  more  sombre  hue.  It 
was  probably  written  at  the  beginning  of  the  Lenten  season; 
the  exact  day  of  the  month  is  not  given. 

"  Woodstock, 

"  February,  1881. 

"  How  hard  it  is  for  us  to  make  full  use  of  our  oppor- 
tunities! There  is  not  a  moment  in  the  day  or  night  when 
we  might  not  be  meriting  by  a  silent  aspiration,  a  genuflec- 
tion even  a  smile,  a  pleasant  word,  a  trifling  act  of  fore- 
thought. These  are  the  brilliants,  tiny  indeed,  but  they 
will  add  great  lustre  to  our  crowns.  I  remember  Father 
Porter  impressed  upon  us  to  make  frequent  acts  of  perfect 
charity  It  might  seem  presumptuous  at  first  sight,  but  he 
said  it  was  not  so,  and  we  should  tell  Our  Lord  that  we  do 
love  Him,  or  at  least  desire  to  love  Him,  as  well  as  any  crea- 
ture can  love  Him,  even  the  Seraphim  and  His  Blessed 

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LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

Mother  herself.  The  desire  comes  from  Him,  so  it  must  be 
most  pleasing  to  Him,  who  is  Perfect  Charity.  We  must 
decide  to  make  the  recreation  hour  the  most  profitable  of 
the  day,  and  with  this  intention  prepare  for  it  by  an  act  of 
perfect  charity,  either  in  the  chapel  or  on  our  way  to  the  rec- 
reation room.  Our  selfishness  often  hinders  us  from  help- 
ing our  companions ;  I  speak  from  experience.  There  were 
certain  novices  in  England  with  whom  I  was  not  much 
thrown,  and  I  never  sought  them  out  when  it  was  left  free 
to  choose.  By  accident,  a  few  weeks  before  I  left,  I  sat  next 
one  at  recreation.  He  seemed  downcast,  and  by  some  kindly 
questions  I  found  that  although  within  a  few  months  of  his 
vows,  he  had  not  grasped  the  idea  of  the  religious  life.  He 
had  all  kinds  of  doubt  as  to  his  vocation.  I  tried  to  show 
him  the  serpent's  trail,  and  pointed  out  the  beauties  of  our 
life.  To  my  surprise,  I  found  that  he  had  always  felt  drawn 
to  me,  although  I  had  done  nothing  to  deserve  it.  When  I 
left  he  was  one  of  the  most  affected  and  the  last  to  bid  fare- 
well, as  he  stole  away  from  the  others  and  was  at  the  lodge 
gate  for  a  last  good-bye.  The  other  day  I  had  a  letter  from 
him  saying  how  happy  he  now  was  in  his  vocation.  He  had 
taken  his  vows,  and  his  doubts  had  long  since  vanished. 
The  moral  may  apologize  for  my  speaking  of  this,  and  I  was 
only  the  unworthy  mouth-piece  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

Later  he  alludes  feelingly  to  St.  Joseph  : — 

"March,  1881. 

"  Let  us  have  great  confidence ;  this  should  be  the  domi- 
nant note  of  all  our  prayers ;  it  will  make  them  most  pleasing 
to  God.     We  should  ask  like  children  who  feel  they  have  a 

200 


WOODSTOCK  COLLEGE. 

right  to  ask,  and  are  sure  of  having  their  petition  granted, 
because  they  cannot  conceive  the  possibility  of  their  Father 
being  unable  or  unwilling  to  fulfil  their  desires.  I  think 
I  owe  a  great  deal  to  St.  Joseph.  I  am  convinced  that  he 
helped  me  to  my  vocation,  as  his  month  in  Paris,  our  first 
month  as  Catholics,  was  a  fruitful  season  to  me,  although  I 
was  then  only  groping  in  the  dark  and  cold  and  could  not 
tell  whither  Providence  was  leading  me.  Those  are  happy 
days  to  look  back  upon,  but  what  a  blessing  to  be  settled  in 
our  proper  place." 

The  winter  of  1880-81  was  unusually  severe.  Old- 
timers  could  recall  nothing  like  it.  All  the  more  beautiful 
was  it  when  the  Spring  came  in  all  its  freshness,  and  the 
scholastics  could  enjoy  their  long  walks  in  the  environs  of 
Woodstock.  How  those  days  were  spent  and  enjoyed  by 
Mr.  Van  Rensselaer,  we  learn  in  the  following  letter : — 

"  May  12,  1881. 

"  Yesterday,  the  feast  of  St.  Francis  Jerome,  Mr.  X. 
and  I  made  an  excursion.  We  left  at  7  A.  M.  and 
got  back  at  a  little  after  6  in  the  evening.  It  was  one  of  the 
pleasantest  days  of  my  life.  Mr.  X.  is  amiable,  clever,  intel- 
lectual and  spiritual.  We  made  our  meditation  on  the  way, 
pausing  now  and  then,  when  it  was  concluded,  to  rest  our- 
selves and  pick  wild  flowers.  Our  chief  object  was  to  discuss 
the  '  Fundamentum  '  of  the  Spiritual  Exercises,  which  we  did 
from  time  to  time,  as  the  spirit  moved  us.  The  terminus 
of  our  walk  was  a  mission  church  belonging  to  us,  about  ten 
miles  away.  We  took  a  cold  dinner  with  us  and  refreshed 
ourselves  at  middav  in  the  shady  woods  by  the  bank  of  a 

201 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

stream.  When  we  reached  the  church  we  played  on  the 
harmonium  and  sang  hymns  etc.  to  our  heart's  content,  and 
then  retraced  our  steps  to  Woodstock.  It  was  a  perfect 
day/' 

i 

The  following  letters  and  extracts  from  letters,  written 
at  this  time,  show  how,  as  a  student,  Van  Rensselaer  ever 
kept  before  him  the  high  ideals  of  the  novitiate. 

"  Woodstock, 

"May  22,   1881. 
"  My  Dear  Sister  : 

"  P.  C. 
"  I  must  congratulate  you  upon  having  completed  the 
two  years  successfully,  and  wish  you  perseverance  not  only 
until  the  vows,  but  until  you  are  called  to  the  reward  of 
those  who  persevere  until  the  end.  Perhaps  you  may  think 
the  two  years  have  not  produced  as  much  change  in  you  as 
you  expected  and  hoped,  but  we  are  poor  judges  in  our  own 
case,  and  I  am  sure  that  the  progress  has  been  real  and  great, 
although  it  may  not  seem  so  to  you.  One  may  safely  admit 
in  almost  every  case,  that  more  might  have  been  effected 
had  there  been  a  readier,  and  more  generous,  and  more  thor- 
ough correspondence  with  grace,  and  this  must  urge  us  on 
to  greater  activity,  for  active  we  must  be  if  we  would  ac- 
complish anything!  This  activity  is  shown  largely  in  re- 
sisting, '  agendo  contra,'  as  St.  Ignatius  puts  it.  How  com- 
paratively easy  would  the  building  process  be  if  the  founda- 
tions were  solidly  and  surely  laid,  but  with  many  of  us  our 
whole  lives  are  liable  to  be  spent  in  laying  the  foundation, 
beginning  now  with  one  corner,  now  with  another,  and  then 

202 


WOODSTOCK  COLLEGE. 

changing  our  whole  plan.  The  consequence  is,  at  last  we 
say  we  have  spent  time  enough  about  the  foundation  and 
must  see  to  the  superstructure  and  often  build  on  sand  and 
not  on  the  rock  of  solid  virtues.  So  I  confess  it  is  with 
me  in  great  measure.  We  would  wish  to  grow  to  perfection 
without  having  practised  the  rudiments ;  we  think  of  finish- 
ing touches  before  we  have  well  drawn  even  the  outline. 
The  knowledge  of  our  own  weaknesses  and  follies  may  be 
turned  into  a  source  of  strength  if,  knowing  ourselves  to 
be  weak,  we  rely  upon  a  higher  power  and  throw  our- 
selves upon  His  mercy  and  compassion.  How  can  He  be  so 
forbearing  with  us?  How  hard  we  find  it  to  be  so  with 
others!  I  think  if  we  could  conquer  ourselves  in  this  one 
point,  victory  would  crown  our  efforts  in  all  others.  We  are 
so  exacting  and  rigid  in  regard  to  others,  and  how  much  we 
need  to  be  borne  with  ourselves !  They  disgust  us  with  some 
little  gaucherie  or  want  of  bienseance,  and  we  offend  them, 
or  at  least  should  offend  them  had  they  not  great  charity,  by 
our  pride  and  overbearingness.  Weighed  in  the  scales,  which 
would  outweigh?    There  can  be  no  question. 

"  Our  lives  must  be  apostolic  and  we  must  acquire  the 
apostolic  virtues  and  first  of  all  charity,  as  St.  Paul  says, 
*  charitas  Christi  urget  nos,'  that  is,  charity  should  be  the 
motive  power  of  our  lives,  the  cause  of  our  words  and  ac- 
tions. For  why  have  we  followed  Him  except  for  the  love 
of  Him?  We  must  strive,  then,  to  make  this  evident  in  act, 
for  words  without  the  acts  make  us  laughable.  Nor  should 
we  be  downcast  because  we  have  made  such  failures  in  our 
attempts.  We  have  failed,  but  that  is  past ;  success  lies  in  the 
future,  and  strength  in  the  present ;  the  failures  will  at  least 
teach  us  humility,  and  so  we  may  draw  good  out  of  evil; 
constant  effort  will  necessarily  produce  the  effect  which  is 

203 


LIFE   OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

in  our  power,  but  it  must  be  a  constant,  persevering,  un- 
daunted effort — it  shall  be,  that  is  our  resolution. 

"  I  sincerely  trust  that  you  may  have  the  happiness  of 
taking  your  vows  in  July ;  it  gives  stability  of  feeling.  Have 
not  the  two  years  gone  quickly?  I  can  scarce  believe  that 
it  is  nearly  a  year  since  I  left  England.  I  often  hear  from 
Manresa ;  things  are  flourishing  over  there.  I  am  strug- 
gling now  really  hard  for  the  examination,  and  sometimes  I 
am  a  little  anxious  about  it  lest  I  break  down.  However, 
I  shall  try  to  be  prudent  and  then  trust  to  Providence.  We 
are  reviewing  all  the  philosophic  matter  of  the  year  and, 
as  you  may  imagine,  it  is  not  a  small  quantity,  and  being 
very  abstruse  is  hard  to  remember.  I  shall  have  to  finish 
this  letter  at  once  as  time  is  up.  Praying  that  the  Auxilium 
Christianorum  will  obtain  for  you  your  heart's  desire,  as 
I  doubt  not  she  will,  I  am  your  devoted  brother, 

"  Henry  Van  Rensselaer,  SJ." 

"  Woodstock, 

"  Feast  of  Blessed  Berchmans,  1882. 

"  My  Dear  Sister  : 

"  P.  C. 
"  I  am  certain  not  to  have  time  to  finish  this  letter  to-day, 
but  I  will  at  least  begin  to  show  that  you  are  not  out  of 
mind  on  our  Patron's  feast.  How  far  behind  him  we  are 
in  perfection!  The  comparison,  even,  seems  absurd,  yet 
why  should  it  ?    He  was  of  the  very  same  nature  as  ourselves, 

204 


WOODSTOCK  COLLEGE. 

and  had  the  same  passions  to  struggle  against  and  flesh  to 
mortify.     Wherein,  then,  lies  the  difference  ?     It  must  be  in 
the  steadiness  of  his  resolutions.     We  resolve,  but  we  so 
often  fail  in  the  execution  through  a  want  of  constancy. 
We  get  weary  in  well-doing  and  yield  to  our  inclination  to 
indulge  ourselves  if  it  be  only  a  harsh  judgment  or  a  cross 
word  now  and  then.     We  cannot  imagine  our  Blessed  John 
ever  giving  way  to   such   an   indulgence   of  temper.      By 
constant  resistance  of  the  inclination  it  will  by  degrees  be- 
come so  far  weakened  that  at  length  it  will  die  a  natural 
death.     We  must  not  despair,  though  this  consummation 
appears  one  of  those  things  which,  though  indeed  possible, 
does  not  seem  probable.     Why  should  we  not  aim  at  it 
with  all  our  might,  humbling  ourselves  under  failure,  but 
none  the  less  persevering?  The  perseverance  will  finally  be 
crowned.     Do  you  not  know  from  your  own  experience 
how  changed  you  have  become  in  a  very  few  years,  even  in 
a  year  ?    Why,  then,  in  another  should  we  not  make  another 
stride  on  the  thorny  road  of  perfection?    It  is  worth  the 
attempt. 

"  You  ask  for  some  practical  way  of  showing  your 
devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart.  Is  not  the  essence  of  a  true 
devotion  imitation  of  the  object?  If,  then,  we  are  really 
devout  to  the  Sacred  Heart,  the  effect  should  be  in  the 
words  of  the  ejaculation  to  make  our  hearts  like  His 
Heart.  It  is,  then,  a  most  practical  devotion  ;  it  is  the  making 
our  hearts  like  His.  Are  they  much  alike  at  present?  I  fear 
we  can  find  only  too  many  points  of  dissimilarity;  His 
Heart  all  love  and  charity  and  unselfishness ;  ours  hard,  cold 
and  selfish.  So  every  thought  and  word  and  act  which  will 
help  increase  the  likeness  will  be  an  act  of  devotion ;  if  we 
nave  the  actual  intention  of  its  being  so,  so  much  the  better. 

•2or> 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  VAN   RENSSELAER 

At  least  we  must  have  the  virtual  intention  made  in  the 
morning  when  we  offer  up  all  that  passes  during  the  day. 
Reparation,  of  course,  enters  into  the  devotion,  but  it  is 
the  reparation  which  relates  to  ourselves.  It  is  absurd  to 
make  reparation  for  others  until  we  root  out  the  bitterness 
in  our  own  hearts.  It  will  help  to  sweeten  our  endeavors  to 
remember  that  we  are  practising  the  most  wholesome  and 
acceptable  devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart  of  our  loving  Lord. 
It  will  nerve  us  to  know  that  by  doing  it  we  are  proving  our 
devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart.  How  much  He  endured  for 
love  of  us !  Shall  not  we  bravely  and  lovingly  make  a 
worthy  return  ?  And  does  not  this  tally  well  with  the  prac- 
tice of  making  acts  or  ejaculations?  If  we  have  the  words 
expressing  our  desire  to  become  like  Our  Lord  always  on 
our  lips,  and  mean  what  we  say,  must  we  not  by  the  very 
fact  become  like  Him?  Will  not  the  desire  of  our  hearts 
at  length  become  realized  ?  Do  not  expect  too  much  at  first ; 
be  content  with  a  few,  but  let  those  few  be  earnest  and  make 
up  in  intensity  for  their  fewness.  I  do  not  mean  to  remain 
content  with  few,  but  add  on  by  degrees  and  take  an  account 
of  the  reason  you  are  unable  to  increase  the  number  or  even 
to  reach  the  ordinary  quota.  But  take  heart  and  keep  up  your 
courage. 

"  We  have  a  good  Master.  What  comfort  there  is  in 
the  thought!  When,  after  repeated  failure,  we  are  in  a 
desperate  state  and  tempted  to  give  up  in  despair,  then  we 
should  recall  His  tender  love,  His  fatherly  care  and  His  un- 
tiring patience.  They  are  really  crucial  moments  for  us. 
They  test  our  motives.  Are  they  unmixed  with  self-love 
or  not?  If  self  is  there,  then  we  feel  hurt  and  sore  and 
indisposed  to  make  any  further  effort.  If  the  intention  is 
pure  we  may  be  sad,  and  justly  too,  because  of  our  weakness 

206 


WOODSTOCK  COLLEGE. 

and  cowardice,  but  at  the  same  time  the  thought  of  the  lov- 
ing help  of  God  will  make  us  ready  and  willing  to  take  up 
our  arms  for  another  tussle  with  the  enemy.  Tussles  they 
are,  usually,  and  not  a  well-ordered  campaign  on  the  open 
field,  the  enemy  in  full  view  and  his  strength  known  and 
measured.  Our  enemy  is  always  lurking  around  corners, 
ready  to  pounce  upon  us  unawares  and  unprepared.  Let  us 
always  be  ready  for  him  no  matter  when  or  how  he  at- 
tacks us.  He  is  ever  near  us,  within  us.  Our  worst 
enemy  is  the  irritable  temper,  the  proud  spirit,  the  hasty, 
ill-natured  tongue.  Our  neighbors  seem  to  be  the  cause  of 
our  irritation,  but  were  we  mild  and  meek  and  amiable, 
would  they  be  ?  At  all  events  not  in  the  same  degree  as  they 
now  are  with  our  domestic  enemies  unsubdued. 

"  But  you  will  be  tired  of  my  long-winded  talk.  I  can- 
not honestly  send  you  this  without  confessing  that  I  myself 
am  the  most  guilty  of  all.  I  had  a  little  trial  of  patience, 
being  kept  in  my  room  for  two  weeks  after  I  came  back  from 
St.  Inigoes  with  an  abrasion  of  the  skin,  got  by  falling 
over  a  bench  in  the  dark.  Now,  thank  God,  it  is  perfectly 
healed. 

"I  am  so  glad  you  liked  Father  Devitt.  I  thought  you 
would,  when  I  heard  he  was  to  give  the  retreat.  Father 
Prendergast  will  be  a  help  to  you;  perhaps  you  might  have 
him  to  take  Father  Jerge's  place,  as  the  latter  goes  to  Fred- 
erick for  tertianship.  You  must  remember  me  especially 
during  my  retreat ;  it  begins  on  the  23d.  Father  Welch  of 
Boston,  a  convert,  gives  it.    I  expect  it  to  be  very  helpful. 

"lam  your  devoted  brother, 

"  Henry  Van  Rensselaer,  SJ." 
207 


LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

"  Woodstock, 


1882. 


"  I  had  a  delightful  letter  from  Father  Prendergast,  writ- 
ten after  he  had  finished  the  long  retreat  of  the  third  year's 
probation.  It  was  as  good  to  me  as  a  retreat;  it  filled  me 
with  love  for  the  Spiritual  Exercises  of  our  Holy  Father, 
St.  Ignatius,  or  rather  it  stirred  up  the  spirit  of  love  and 
devotion  I  already  bore  them.  They  are  our  own  special 
weapons  and  our  greatest  means  of  advancing  the  glory  of 
God.    I  trust  some  day  to  be  able  to  wield  them  powerfully. 

"  I  am  becoming  quite  an  enthusiastic  philosopher.  Just 
now  we  are  studying  interesting  matter,  the  soul;  it  en- 
hances one's  ideas  of  the  dignity  of  man.  I  am  studying  as 
hard  as  my  capacity  allows ;  more  would  be  worse  than  use- 
less. I  try  not  to  worry  too  much  over  the  examinations, 
and  in  spite  of  them  am  as  happy  as  possible.  All  these 
things  are  of  secondary  importance  after  all,  and  if  we  keep 
before  our  minds  the  primary  end,  our  perfection,  they  will 
not  hinder,  but  even  advance  it.  Every  day  the  ideal  before 
me  seems  to  grow  more  tangible  and  real,  and  if  we  only 
corresponded  more  generously  to  abundant  grace,  the  day 
might  come  when  we  should  be  worthy  imitators  of  our 
saintly  Fathers.  Courage  and  confidence!  Let  us  throw 
ourselves  into  that  loving  Heart  where  we  shall  find  such 
power  and  zeal  and  burning  charity,  and  come  forth  changed 
into  new  creatures.  As  of  old,  it  will  be  said :  '  Thou  also 
wert  with  Jesus  of  Galilee,  for  thy  speech  betrayeth  thee.' 

"  How  much  we  may  do  or  leave  undone  for  Our  Lord ! 
It  is  the  tiniest  of  insects  that  forms  the  great  coral  reefs  and 
islands;  so  we,  by  adding  act  to  act,  tiny  as  they  may  be, 
shall  raise  a  tower  upon  which  we  shall  mount  to  Heaven. 

208 


WOODSTOCK  COLLEGE. 

We  cannot  imagine  Our  Lord  to  have  been  anything  but 
affable,  gentle  and  sympathetic  even  in  trifling  things.  We 
ought  to  try  to  be  the  same,  and  we  shall  please  him  more 
and  afford  greater  edification  than  by  any  amount  of  penance 
and  mortification." 

Here  are  some  of  his  thoughts  during  the  month  of 
November : — 

"  I  have  been  very  much  impressed  this  month,  when  med- 
itating on  the  Holy  Souls  in  Purgatory,  with  the  mercy  of 
God  in  giving  this  means  of  purification  to  those  who  have 
not,  in  their  lives,  availed  themselves  of  their  opportunities. 
We  know  that  many  die  in  a  state  only  not  bad  enough  for 
hell.  Their  love  of  God  has  been  tepid,  yet  His  over- 
whelming mercy  finds  a  means  to  give  them  the  joys  of 
heaven,  little  as  they  would  seem  to  deserve  it.  What  would 
such  a  soul  tell  us  if  it  could  come  back  to  earth?  How  it 
would  exhort  us  to  make  use  of  every  means  of  grace  to  the 
utmost,  and  to  let  no  chance  slip  by  unimproved  to  learn  to 
love  Him,  who  is  to  be  hereafter  our  joy  and  our  crown! 
We  can  help  the  Holy  Souls  and  at  the  same  time  grow  in  the 
love  of  God  by  repeating  frequently  an  indulgenced  aspira- 
tion :  '  Jesus,  meek  and  humble  of  heart ' ;  '  Sweet  Heart  of 
Mary,  be  my  salvation.'  We  shall  thus  keep  the  thought  of 
Jesus  and  Alary  ever  before  our  minds  until  they  become 
the  constant  companions  of  our  lives.  Our  lives  should  bear 
the  character  of  reparation,  for  we  are  brands  snatched  from 
the  burning.  We  might  have  been  unbearable  for  pride, 
yet  Almighty  God  saw  the  desires  of  our  hearts  and  opened 
them  to  the  light  of  Truth;  more  still,  has  chosen  us  to  be 
His   own   particular   companions,   and   vet   more,    apostles. 

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to  bring  others  to  His  feet.  Let  us  keep  this  before  our 
eyes,  that  the  salvation  of  many  depends  upon  our  sanctifi- 
cation;  that  if  we  become  saints,  the  glory  of  God  will  be 
advanced  far  beyond  any  conception  that  we  can  form. 

"  What  peace  and  contentment  it  brings  to  have  made  the 
sacrifice  of  all  things !  I  feel  a  growing  love  for  poverty  and 
never  am  happier  than  when  I  part  with  some  of  the  few 
treasures  I  still  have.  To-day,  for  example,  I  have  sent 
Francis  my  missal.  I  should  like  him  to  use  it  at  his  first 
Mass.    We  used  to  study  it  together  in  old  times. 

"  What  a  blessed  thing  it  would  be  to  have  such  faith  as 
to  see  God  in  everybody  and  in  everything !  How  different, 
then,  would  be  our  lives,  superiors  and  equals  all  invested 
with  a  halo  of  divinity  because  we  see  God  in  them  as  in  a 
tabernacle !  Then  would  our  dealings  with  all  become  easy, 
for  in  them  we  should  be  obeying  and  serving  Him  whose 
least  command  is  law,  whose  least  service  an  honor.  This 
was  the  practice  of  the  Saints ;  this  transforms  earth  into  a 
Heaven  where  God  goes  in  and  out  among  us,  and  where 
we  can  constantly  be  advancing  His  glory.  How  much 
good  we  can  find  in  everything  if  we  only  look  for  it,  and 
instead  of  dwelling  upon  people's  defects,  dwell  upon  their 
good  points  and  become  ourselves  amiable  and  lovable  in 
proportion,  and  secure  the  Easter  greeting  of  Christ :  '  Peace 
be  with  you.'  " 

As  Christmas  approached,  his  thoughts  took  on  the  char- 
acter of  the  festival,  and  a  few  days  before  its  advent  he 
wrote : — 

"  My  Christmas  greeting  must  be :  '  That  He  may  come 
and  find  prepared  for  Him  a  mansion  worthy  of  Him.'  The 

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WOODSTOCK  COLLEGE. 

words  of  that  prayer  before  Holy  Communion  have  always 
had  a  peculiar  fascination  for  me ;  in  fact,  I  have  an  especial 
devotion  to  the  season  of  Advent;  there  is  something  so 
touching,  so  pathetic  in  the  words  used  by  the  Church  in 
her  antiphons  and  hymns ;  something  of  that  longing  after 
Him  Who  is  to  come,  that  it  makes  one  homesick  for  the 
true  home  which  awaits  us  when  He  shall  come  the  second 
time  to  take  us  to  Himself  to  be  with  Him  forever.  We 
might  call  our  whole  life  an  Advent-tide,  for  it  should  be 
one  of  expectation  and  preparation.  We  must  live  for  the 
future,  though  in  the  present,  and  fulfil  every  little  duty 
with  a  faith  which  pierces  the  clouds  and  sees  them  in  the 
light  of  eternity.,, 

The  two  following  letters  show  that  he  was  mindful  of  his 
sister  on  her  patronal  feast,  that  of  the  Seven  Dolors  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin. 

"  March  30,  1882. 

"My  Dear  Sister  Dolores  : 

"  P.  C. 

"  I  might  not  have  time  to  write  to  you  on  your  feast  day, 
so  I  will  write  now,  that  you  may  receive  my  letter  perhaps 
to-morrow.  You  are  blessed  in  having  two  fetes  a  year; 
most  people  are  satisfied  with  one. 

"  I  think  we  are  rather  inclined  not  to  appreciate  enough 
what  it  is  to  have  had  such  a  mother  and  father  as 
°urs.  .  .  .  We  must  work  hard  for  mother  now; 
what  a  pity  that  she  should  not  have  the  comforts  and  con- 
solations of  the  Church.  But  Our  Lord  has  his  own  times 
of  grace;  perhaps  her  hour  has  not  yet  come;  we  must,  as 

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LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN    RENSSELAER 

of  yore,  try  to  get  His  Mother  to  use  her  influence  to  has- 
ten it. 

"  We  had  our  sermon  here,  too,  preached  by  death.  Our 
Father  Minister,  one  morning  last  week  did  not  go  to  the 
Sacristy  at  Mass  time ;  they  went  to  call  him  and  found  him 
stretched  on  the  floor  quite  dead.  It  was  a  great  shock  to 
us ;  the  first  we  knew  of  it  was  to  hear  the  passing-bell  ring 
towards  the  end  of  our  hour  of  meditation.  We  knew  of  no 
one  for  whom  to  say  the  '  De  Profundis,'  as  only  one  of  the 
scholastics  was  sick,  and  he  not  dangerously.  The  mourn- 
ing was  general  when  we  were  told  that  it  was  the  Father 
Minister;  he  was  universally  beloved  and  respected  as  a  saint, 
although  he  had  been  among  us  at  Woodstock  only  seven 
months.  He  was  certainly  well  prepared  by  nearly  thirty 
years  of  religious  life  of  self-sacrifice.  For  seventeen  years  he 
was  prefect  of  discipline  in  boarding  colleges,  and  you  may 
imagine  what  a  life  that  is.  Strange  to  say  we  found  that 
the  points  of  his  meditation  had  been :  '  The  happiness  a 
good  religious  would  feel  at  the  hour  of  his  death,  when  he 
could  look  back  upon  a  life  of  mortification  and  sacrifice.' 
Was  it  not  a  good  proximate  preparation  for  death?  The 
cause  was  paralysis  of  the  heart.  Fie  looked  so  natural  and 
lifelike  for  two  days  that  many  declared  that  he  was  in  a 
trance.  Fortunately  for  our  peace  of  mind,  the  unmistakable 
signs  appeared  on  the  third  day,  and  there  was  no  longer 
room  for  doubt.  He  is  an  immense  loss  to  us.  I  was  very 
fond  of  him  and  saw  a  good  dealof  him.  It  preaches  a 
striking  lesson  to  us  to  be  ready.  It  seems  often  to  be  the 
lot  of  religious  to  die  suddenly:  certainly,  with  all  our  re- 
ligious exercises,  we  ought  to  be  prepared. 

"  It  was  a  relief  to  hear  from  you  after  such  a  long  silence. 
I  imagined,  however,  that  there  was  no  real  reason  for  your 

212 


WOODSTOCK  COLLEGE. 

silence  except  want  of  time  and  energy,  at  least  for  writing. 
It  does  require  a  certain  effort  to  put  oneself  down  to  write. 

"  Lent  has  passed  very  quickly  and,  as  you  may  suppose, 
I  have  not  been  allowed  to  fast.  However,  one  can  gain 
much  merit  not  only  by  the  obedience  under  which  one  acts, 
but  also  by  giving  up  little  things  at  meals,  nothing  es- 
sential, but  little  extras,  nor  that  regularly,  but  varying, 
first  one  and  then  another.  In  that  way  we  can  practise  a 
good  deal  of  mortification  on  a  small  scale  without  injuring 
our  health  or  violating  the  intention  of  our  Superiors  in 
bidding  us  eat. 

"  I  can  scarcely  realize  that  a  whole  year  has  passed  since 
last  Holy  Week.  When  one  is  busy,  time  flies.  If  only  our 
advance  in  perfection  could  keep  pace  with  it;  however,  we 
must  be  content  to  go  along  slowly,  provided  it  be  surely, 
not  losing  any  ground  that  we  have  gained,  but  steadily 
keeping  in  view  the  end  for  which  we  left  the  world,  our  own 
perfection  and  the  good  of  others.  But  the  first  must  always 
have  the  chief  place  in  our  endeavors,  and  we  may  be  sure 
that  the  second  will  not  suffer  in  consequence,  since  the  ratio 
is  a  direct  one. 

"  I  find  the  use  of  ejaculatory  prayers  very  helpful,  such 
as  '  Jesus  meek  and  humble  of  heart,  make  my  heart  like 
unto  Thine,'  and  '  Sweet  Heart  of  Mary,  be  my  salvation/ 
They  are  both  indulgenced  for  three  hundred  days,  so  by 
repeating  them  we  can  help  the  Holy  Souls,  and  at  the  same 
time  form  habits  in  our  soul,  acquire  humility  and  gentle- 
ness, and  thus  avoid  pride  and  harshness,  besides  keeping 
the  thought  of  Jesus  and  Mary  ever  before  our  minds,  until 
they  become  the  constant  companions  of  our  lives,  and  as- 
sociated with  all  our  thoughts  and  works  and  words.  Be- 
gin by  making  a  determination  to  say  a  certain  number,  not 

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LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

too  many  at  first,  before  the  midday,  and  again  before  the 
night  examen;  then  week  after  week  try  to  advance  the 
number,  and  you  will  be  surprised  to  find  that  your  life  seems 
to  be  made  up  of  ejaculations.  This  is  by  no  means  beyond 
our  reach,  if  we  are  faithful  and  zealous.  Is  not  this  the 
life  of  recollection  we  want,  and  that  which  active  saints 
led  ?  Nor  will  your  work  suffer  in  any  way ;  on  the  contrary, 
it  will  help  to  concentrate  and  spiritualize  everything  you 
do,  for  is  it  not  because  we  do  not  keep  in  mind  the  motive 
of  our  actions  that  they  are  done  in  a  purely  material  way? 
As  to  one's  success  in  meditation,  remember,  the  criterion  of 
a  good  meditation  is  not  sensible  consolation  and  satisfac- 
tion, but  the  making  of  a  resolution  which  will  tell  upon  our 
conduct  during  the  day.  We  should  accomplish  much  if 
we  only  could  grasp  the  idea  of  prayer,  what  it  really  is,  the 
communion  of  two,  the  outpouring  of  our  desires  and  long- 
ings, the  confession  of  our  shortcomings  and  forebodings 
into  the  ears  of  One  whose  delight  is  to  be  with  the  children 
of  men,  frail  and  foolish  as  they  are.  Let  us  beseech  Our 
Lord  more  earnestly  to  teach  us  to  pray  simply,  heartily, 
and  with  unbounded  confidence. 

"  As  to  devotion  to  our  Lady,  do  not  worry  yourself 
on  that  score;  it  is  a  thing  which  must  be  spontaneous 
and  cannot  be  forced.  I  am  sure  that  you  are  a  devout 
client,  and  although  you  may  consider  things  said  and  done 
are  sometimes  not  in  good  taste,  yet  in  no  way  do  you 
derogate  from  her  honor.  If  we  think  of  her  always  as  the 
one  whom  Our  Lord  loved  the  most  dearly  of  creatures, 
we  shall  by  degrees,  as  we  become  more  Christlike,  find  that 
we  shall  according  to  our  measure  love  her  as  He  did.  I 
find  my  devotion  and  confidence  ever  on  the  increase,  and 
if  you  take  up  the  method  of  ejaculations  which  I  spoke  of, 

214 


WOODSTOCK  COLLEGE. 


you  will  find  that  the  '  Sweet  Heart  of  Mary '  will  prove  a 
reality  to  you. 

"  Your  devoted  brother, 

"  Henry  Van  Rensselaer,  S.J7" 


"  Woodstock, 

"  Feast  of  Seven  Dolors, 

"  1883. 
"  My  Dear  Sister  Dolores  : 

"  P.  C. 

"  I  do  not  know  which  of  the  two  feasts  of  the  Dolors  of 
Our  Lady  is  your  favorite.  This  one,  it  seems  to  me,  should 
be.  In  consequence  of  its  being  so  near  the  Passiontide  of 
her  Divine  Son,  we  can  realize  better  what  her  sufferings 
were  in  the  chief  of  her  dolors,  as  she  stood  at  the  foot  of 
the  cross.  That,  too,  must  be  our  station,  if  we  would  be 
true  followers  of  the  Crucified.  Not  like  the  faithless,  or 
rather  weak  in  faith,  Apostle,  standing  afar  off,  viewing  the 
cross  and  the  suffering,  but  without  faith  and  confidence 
enough  to  draw  near  and  claim  a  share ;  but  like  our  Blessed 
Lady  and  her  generous  companions,  not  ashamed  to  face  the 
shame  nor  too  weak  to  bear  the  pain.  That  little  band  is 
a  cause  of  reproach  to  manhood  and  of  glory  to  womanhood, 
for  there  were  four  to  one — the  weaker  sex  showing  itself 
stronger  than  the  strong.  Is  it  not  hard  with  our  proud  na- 
tures to  try  to  practise  what  we  admit  readily  enough  in 
theory?  Crucified  to  the  world  we  should  be,  dead  to  self- 
love  and  self-pleasing.  This  is  only  our  plain  duty,  as  it 
seems  so  clearly  to  us  in  meditation  and  prayer ;  we  take  our 

215 


LIFE   OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

resolution  to  act  upon  it,  we  rise  from  our  knees  feeling  quite 
heroic,  go  to  the  chapel  perhaps  for  Mass ;  one  of  our  neigh- 
bors has  some  habit  very  disagreeable  to  us,  away  goes  our 
heroism,  irritation  sets  in  and  has  full  sway ;  we  forget  what 
is  going  on,  we  are  inattentive  to  the  action  of  the  sacrifice, 
we  are  unstrung  and  nervous.  We  excuse  ourselves, 
saying :  '  How  can  one  help  being  put  out  under  the 
circumstances?  It  is  all  because  of  my  nerves.  I  was  not 
myself.  It  is  a  defect  of  my  nature  for  which  I  cannot  be 
held  accountable — my  misfortune  not  my  fault.'  So  in- 
genious self-love  rattles  on,  providing  out  of  its  treasures 
reason  after  reason,  some  of  them  specious  enough  to  de- 
ceive the  very  elect  if  not  on  their  guard.  And  where  is 
the  root  of  the  evil?  It  lies  within  us;  the  external  inci- 
dent, whatever  be  its  nature,  did  but  serve  as  a  match  to  set 
fire  to  a  lot  of  combustible  material  that  we  imprudently 
keep  within  us.  What  will  quench  this  fire?  What  will 
render  this  dangerous  fuel  beyond  danger  of  a  spark?  Only 
a  continual  supply  of  '  that  water  that  springeth  up  unto 
everlasting  life.'  That  water  flows  from  the  riven  side  of 
Our  Lord,  and  near  the  sacred  fount  must  we  be  continu- 
ally; nor  is  there  anything  to  hinder  it.  No  great  exertion 
is  required  on  our  part,  only  a  living  in  the  presence  of 
God,  only  a  constant  union  with  Him;  corporally,  when  it 
is  allowed  us  in  Holy  Communion ;  spiritually,  when  not  our 
privilege.  If  we  had  that  thirst  after  justice  we  should  have, 
we  would  of  our  own  accord  turn  to  the  Fountain 
of  Justice.  '  As  the  hart  panteth  after  the  waterbrooks, 
so  longeth  my  soul  after  Thee,  O  God.'  Such  would  be 
our  desire,  such  indeed  it  is,  I  am  sure,  my  dearest  sister,  but 
we  must  not  rest  in  desires,  but  use  the  means  of  putting 
them  into  action. 

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WOODSTOCK  COLLEGE. 

"  Struggle  on  with  your  aspirations,  they  may  not  come 
spontaneously  now,  come  they  will  in  time.  Do  not 
be  discouraged  and  do  not  be  satisfied  with  what  you 
do.  We  must  ever  cry,  '  More,  O  Lord,  more  grace  ' : 
and  with  the  grace  let  there  be  hereafter  a  greater  faith- 
fulness. St.  Peter  of  Alcantara  says :  '  Let  us  aim  at 
the  highest,  and  by  the  grace  of  God,  we  shall  be  able  to 
accomplish  something  for  His  greater  glory,  who  has  been 
so  bountiful  in  His  best  and  perfect  gifts  to  us.'  Those 
gifts  have  been  given  with  a  purpose;  we  shall  frustrate  it, 
unless  we  make  ourselves  fit  instruments  in  the  hands  of 
the  Heavenly  Workman.  Unfit  we  shall  be,  unless  we  ex- 
tract all  those  roots  of  bitterness  that  lie  deep  down  in  our 
hearts,  poisoning  all  the  sweet  water  of  our  lives.  That 
overweening  love  of  self  which  makes  itself  a  very  tyrant, 
the  end  and  measure  of  all  that  we  do  or  is  done  to  us. 
Drag  it  up  by  the  roots  we  must,  for  it  is  useless  to  lop  off 
the  upper  growth.  It  has  sent  out  feelers  and  offshoots 
in  all  directions  and  twined  itself  by  them  closely  around 
our  hearts,  and  strengthened  itself  in  all  those  years  we 
have  allowed  it  to  live  and  flourish.  It  can  be  rooted  up — 
it  must  be,  and  when?  Why  let  it  live  a  day  longer?  Let 
us  begin  at  once,  and  a  long  pull  and  a  strong  pull  and  a 
pull  that  will  be  repeated  day  after  day  until  it  yields.  We 
can  do  it  and  we  will.  I  feel  what  I  say,  otherwise  I  would 
never  have  the  assurance  to  write  it.  I  am  trying  to  prac- 
tise what  I  preach  or  I  could  never  have  the  face  to  preach 
it.  I  know  only  too  well  by  experience  all  that  special  plead- 
ing of  which  I  have  spoken.  Nature  is  responsible  in  a 
measure  for  our  character,  but  we,  too,  are  responsible  for 
the  way  in  which  we  have  yielded  to  our  weaknesses  instead 
of  fighting  against  them;  we  have  enervated  ourselves  and 

217 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  VAN   RENSSELAER 

then  we  blame  our  nerves  as  if  they  were  the  sole  cause  of 
our  troubles.  No,  it  is  our  soft  self-indulgence.  If  we  have 
violent  tempers  and  strong  passions  it  is  because  persons 
with  such  temperaments  can  by  their  very  disposition  do 
greater  things  and  endure  more  than  those  who  are  more 
softly  and  gently  disposed.  We  may  use  these  passions  as 
instruments  of  advancement,  but  not  until  we  have  them 
fully  under  our  control.  We  shall  get  them  under  the  curb 
only  by  constant  watchfulness  and  self-restraint,  stopping 
an  ebullition  ere  it  has  gone  too  far.  Doing  this,  we  shall 
eventually  get  the  mastery.  Let  us  make  up  our  minds  not 
to  excuse  ourselves,  but  courageously  admit  our  past  faith- 
lessness and  resolve  to  make  up  by  generous  wakefulness, 
ever  on  the  alert  to  foresee  a  coming  storm  and  to  be  ready 
for  it.  This  is  a  rather  incoherent  sort  of  a  letter,  but  you 
will  take  it  for  what  it  is  worth.  .  .  .  Thank  the 
kind  Sisters  for  the  Agnus  Dei,  and  recommend  me  warmly 
to  them. 

"  Ever  your  devoted  brother, 

"  Henry  Van  Rensselaer,  S.J." 

What  his  thoughts  were  during  Holy  Week  may  be  seen 
in  a  letter  he  wrote  to  his  sister  a  week  later. 

"  Woodstock, 

"  Maundy-Thursday, 

"  March  22,  1883. 
"  My  Dear  Sister  Dolores  : 

"  For  my  greetings  to  reach  you  on  Easter  Day,  I  must 
write  now.    To-day  we  commemorate  that  greatest  of  bless- 

218 


WOODSTOCK  COLLEGE. 

mgs  bestowed  by  Our  Lord,  the  institution  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  of  His  Holy  Body  and  Blood,  to  be  the  soul's 
food  in  this  journey  through  the  wilderness,  when 
nothing  but  the  Heavenly  Manna  can  be  found  to  sustain 
and  strengthen  it.  It  is  a  day  of  days  indeed,  telling  of 
the  height  of  treason  and  of  fidelity,  of  the  depths  of  human 
depravity  and  of  Divine  mercy  and  forgiveness ;  how  Judas 
betrayed  and  sold,  how  Christ  forgave  and  would  have  saved. 
Did  human  nature  ever  look  meaner  than  in  the  person  of 
the  traitor,  or  nobler  than  in  the  Betrayed.  The  whole 
history  of  the  Passion  is  full  of  antithesis, — the  Apostles 
dreaming  of  an  earthly  kingdom  and  its  pomp  and  show, 
undesirous  of  shame  and  ignominy,  as  yet  far  from  be- 
ing spiritual-minded;  their  Master,  the  King  of  Kings, 
whose  kingdom  was  not  of  this  world,  who  thirsted  for 
affronts  and  obloquy,  and  whose  mind  was  set  on  things 
above,  not  on  the  things  of  the  earth.  Can  anything  be 
more  pathetic  than  the  contrast  between  the  Master  and  the 
Disciples?  He  looked  for  some  one  to  comfort  Him,  to 
sympathize  with  Him.  He  looked  in  vain;  they  could 
neither  appreciate  nor  enter  into  His  sentiments.  Yet 
they  had  been  under  His  training  and  influence  for  three 
years.  What  reason  had  He  ever  given  them  for  such 
expectations  as  they  counted  upon  ?  None ;  He  had  fled  at 
the  time  when  the  people,  full  of  enthusiasm  on  account  of 
the  miracle  of  the  feeding  of  the  multitude,  would  have 
taken  Him  and  made  Him  king.  He  had  a  throne  which 
He  would  one  day  ascend  amidst  the  shouts  of  the  by- 
standers;  that  throne  was  the  cross,  the  acclamations,  jeers 
of  derision  and  scorn.  It  is  easy  for  us  to  wonder  at  the 
stupidity  and  blindness  of  the  Jews,  for  the  defects  of  others 
are  always  apparent  enough ;  our  own  escape  our  attention, 

219 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

so  much  are  we  engrossed  with  others.  I  often  ask  myself 
on  which  side  I  should  have  been  had  I  been  present  on  Cal- 
vary. It  is  hard  to  be  on  the  losing  side,  and  did  ever  a  side 
look  more  hopeless  than  that  of  the  Crucified  ?  Hear  the  tes- 
timony of  the  very  Disciples  :  '  We  hoped,'  they  said,  '  that  it 
was  He  that  should  have  redeemed  Israel'  They  hoped  until 
the  death  on  the  cross  put  an  end  to  hope.  What  strength 
of  faith  was  requisite  to  see  in  that  Man  of  Sorrows  the 
Messiah,  the  Son  of  David  of  the  royal  race!  What  faith, 
to  rise  superior  to  the  opinion  of  the  rulers  of  society !  It 
demanded  a  higher  faith  than  the  chosen  band  had,  at 
least  practically.  They  lacked,  indeed,  not  the  virtue  of 
faith,  but  the  will  to  exert  the  act. 

"  Can  we  not  well  understand  the  case?  Does  not  our 
everyday  life  give  some  faint  image  of  like  conduct? 
Scarcely  a  day  passes  but  human  respect  nips  some  virtuous 
action  in  the  bud ;  I  speak  feelingly,  for  it  is  my  own  history. 
We  call  this  truckling  by  euphonious  names  when  we  try 
to  apologize  for  it  to  ourselves.  It  sometimes  wears  the 
garb  of  humility.  We,  in  our  lowliness,  do  not  wish  to 
attract  attention,  we  wish  to  be  like  the  rest.  At  other 
times  we  like  to  think  the  chance  inopportune.  No  doubt 
St.  Peter  thought  the  question  of  the  maid-servant  so. 
That  wasted  opportunity  brought  on  another  and  another, 
and  the  three  combined  gave  him  cause  for  life-long  pen- 
ance and  sorrow.  But,  dearest  sister,  you  need  rather  en- 
couragement than  anything  else,  for  I  remember  well,  even 
in  Protestant  days,  how  you  braved  the  ridicule  of  the 
family  and  eyed  your  plate  for  dear  life.  It  was  modesty,  as 
you  understood  it  then,  severe,  repelling,  but  well  mean- 
ing. What  you  could  do  in  those  days  in  such  matters 
with  less  spiritual  help,  you  can  now  do  with  more  ease 

220 


WOODSTOCK  COLLEGE. 

and  edification.  Perhaps  you  tell  me  that  prayer  seemed 
easier  then  than  now;  it  may  be  so,  but  that  proves 
nothing  at  all.  God's  criterion  is  not  the  ease  with 
which  we  work,  but  rather  the  difficulties  we  surmount, 
such  as  a  half  hour  spent  in  battling-  against  temptations  to 
impatience  On  account  of  the  heat  or  ventilation,  or  the 
seeming  barrenness  or  want  of  interest  of  the  points  given, 
or  the  manner  in  which  they  are  given — all  small  things, 
surely,  in  themselves,  but  gigantic  when  they  play  upon  the 
imagination.  We  begin  to  wonder  at  the  stupidity  and 
indiscrimination  of  those  in  power.  We  could  give  them 
a  valuable  hint  or  two,  self-love  whispers,  forgetting  that  we 
have  come  into  religion  not  to  have  our  own  way  but  to 
submit  to  crosses  and  contradictions  for  the  love  of  God. 
Sursum  Cord  a! 

"  Let  this  Easter-tide  be  a  resurrection  for  us.  We 
have  been  bound  down  by  earthly  things  long  enough. 
We  have  been  looking  too  much  through  colored  glasses, 
the  coloring  matter  self-love.  We  will  break  them  and 
see  things  in  the  pure  white  light  of  truth.  We  must  make 
some  generous  resolutions,  and  what  is  more,  we  should 
begin  without  delay  to  put  them  into  execution,  expecting 
indeed  not  great  victories  at  first,  but  cheerfully  bearing  up 
under  occasional  defeats. 

"  I  am  almost  tempted  to  put  all  this  into  the  fire,  it  sounds 
so  trite  and  commonplace.  Our  Provincial,  Father  Fulton, 
is  making  his  visitation.  I  had  a  very  satisfactory  talk  with 
him,  although  I  have  but  little  chance  of  going  on  to  theology 
without  some  teaching,  there  is  such  a  demand  for  professors 
in  the  colleges,  and  so  many  scholastics  who  have  finished 
their  five  years'  term.  Justice  demands  that  they  should 
have  first  chance  for  theology.     It  will  be  a  new  experience 

221 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

for  me,  and  were  it  not  for  delaying  ordination  I  have  really 
a  wish  for  it.  However,  whatever  the  decision,  I  am  per- 
fectly content.     I  shall  expect  the  worst. 

"  Your  devoted  brother, 

"  Henry  Van  Rensselaer." 

The  Woodstock  community  of  which  Mr.  Van  Rens- 
selaer was  a  member  until  the  summer  of  1883,  was  not  only 
very  large,  but  cosmopolitan  as  well ;  in  it  were  Belgians  and 
Germans,  Italians  and  Frenchmen,  Spaniards  and  Cana- 
dians, with  sons  of  the  Emerald  Isle  and  Englishmen,  though 
of  course  the  German  and  Irish-American  element  predomi- 
nated. With  all  these  Mr.  Van  Rensselaer  was  a  general  fa- 
vorite. He  was  a  model  of  strict  observance,  never  obtruding 
himself  or  his  personal  history  or  his  opinions  on  others,  and, 
strange  to  say,  a  close  friend  of  men  of  the  most  antagonistic 
qualities.  Affable  towards  all,  he  showed,  perhaps,  a  prefer- 
ence for  associating  with  men  of  other  provinces  or  nation- 
alities, and  exercised  without  effort  and  without  pretense 
a  remarkable  influence  among  his  companions,  many  of 
whom  were  younger  than  himself,  and  on  that  account  lack- 
ing in  experience. 

For  philosophical  studies  and  the  abstruse  generally,  he 
had  no  special  aptitude,  though  his  common-sense  way  of 
viewing  knotty  problems  caused  him  to  be  sought  after 
by  those  less  favored  with  natural  gifts.  He  was  always 
ready  to  lend  a  helping  hand.  He  was  a  rapid  penman  and 
could  take  down,  almost  verbatim,  the  lectures  of  the  pro- 
fessors. In  consequence  his  notes  were  in  great  demand  by 
his  classmates,  but  no  matter  how  often  he  was  appealed  to 
or  how  ill-timed  the  appeal,  he  was  ever  ready  and  obliging. 

222 


CHAPTER  XII. 
The  Glass-Room. 

THE  three  years  devoted  to  the  study  of  philosophy  were 
now  drawing  to  a  close,  and  in  the  summer  of  1883 
Mr.  Van  Rensselaer  was  to  take  the  next  step  in  the  training 
of  a  young  Jesuit,  and  assume  the  responsibilities  of  a 
teacher  in  the  class-room.  His  first  assignment  was  to  St. 
John's  College,  Fordham,  where  he  remained  from  Sep- 
tember, 1883,  until  the  following  June.  His  interest  in 
young  men  began  to  manifest  itself  at  once.  To  him  was 
assigned  the  charge  of  the  Students'  Sodality  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  a  task  than  which  no  other  more  to  his  liking  could 
have  been  selected. 

It  has  frequently  been  observed  that  men  who  have  in- 
fluence over  students  of  maturer  years  are  often  unable  to 
manage  the  callow  youths  just  entering  upon  their  teens. 
The  boy  was  a  riddle  which  Mr.  Van  Rensselaer,  not  only 
when  he  was  in  charge  as  a  professor,  but  all  through  the 
years  of  his  ministry,  could  never  solve.  Not  that  he  was 
not  a  favorite  with  the  lads  with  whom  he  had  to  deal,  but 
he  was  too  kind-hearted  and  too  good-natured  to  exercise 
the  necessary  control. 

It  was  quite  otherwise  with  the  more  advanced  students 
who  formed  the  College  Sodality.  The  place  of  meeting 
was  the  Community  Chapel,  which  he  made  attractive  by  the 
addition  of  bright  frescoes,  a  handsome  new  altar,  and  elab- 
orate chapel  furniture.    He  would  aid  their  devotion,  but  he 

223 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

would  also  provide  for  their  comfort.  In  the  sanctuary  was 
placed  a  quaint  little  bell  of  exquisite  workmanship.  He  had 
found  it  somewhere  in  Germany  and  it  bore  the  following 
inscription : — 

"  Die  Kaiserglocke  heiss'  ich ; 
Des  Kaisers  Ehren  preis'  ich; 
Auf  heilger  Warte  steh'  ich, 
Dem  deutschen  Reich  erfleh'  ich 
Dass  Fried'  und  Wehr 
Ihm  Gott  bescheer." 

Which  may  be  rendered  : — 

"  The  Kaiser's  bell  am  I ; 
And  Kaiser  praise  on  high ; 
From  belfry  'gainst  the  sky, 
For  German  land  I  cry: 
O  God,  her  peace  defend. 
O  God,  her  might  extend." 

Once  a  week  during  the  school  year  there  was  a  meeting, 
and  every  fortnight  an  instruction,  in  the  preparation  of 
which  Mr.  Van  Rensselaer  put  forth  his  best  efforts  and  gave 
early  proof  of  his  deep  interest  in  young  men.  It  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  the  zealous  activity  of  these  college  days 
was  but  the  apprenticeship  for  his  more  extended,  though 
not  more  valuable,  work  in  the  ministry.  Among  his  papers 
is  a  blank-book  of  over  a  hundred  pages  containing  a  series 
of  "  Sermonettes  "  delivered  at  these  regular  meetings  of 
the  Sodality.  They  are  neatly  written  and  give  evidence  of 
exceptional  care  in  their  preparation.   The  character  of  these 

224 


THE  CLASS-ROOM. 

instructions  may    be    learned    from    a    glance    at    the    in- 
dex : — 

1st.  On  the  dignity  of  a  Sodalist. 

2nd.  Aim  of  the  Sodality. 

3rd.  Self  Sanctification. 

4th.  Self  Examination. 

5th.  Advantages  of  Frequent  Communion. 

6th.  On  Purity.     (Feast  of  the  Purity  B.  V.  M.) 

7th.  On  the  Presence  of  God. 

8th.  Idea  of  a  Saint.     (All  Saints.) 

9th.  Souls  in  Purgatory. 

10th.  Vocation. 

11th.  On  Duty  of  Thanksgiving.      (Thanksgiving  Day 

Tide.) 

12th.  Preparation   for  the   Coming  of  Christ.      (First 

Sunday  of  Advent.) 

13th.  Spirit  of  Joy. 

14th.  The  Constituents  of  a  Happy  New  Year.  (Jan.  6.) 

15th.  Duty  and  Inclination. 

16th.  The  Use  of  a  Sodality  Badge. 

17th.  Purification  of  B.  V.'m. 

1 8th.  Character. 

19th.  Formation  of  Character. 

20th.  Jesus  Christ,  Our  Ideal. 

21st.  Devotion. 

22nd.  Christian  Enthusiasm.     F.  Ozanam 

23rd  Humility. 

His  second  and  last  year  as  a  teacher  was  spent  at  Loyola 
College,  Baltimore.  No  doubt  it  was  a  sacrifice  to  be  taken 
away  from  Fordham  and  from  the  young  men  in  whom, 

225 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

with  the  fervor  of  his  new  work  upon  him,  he  had  taken 
so  lively  an  interest.  There  may  have  been  some  feeling  of 
disappointment  at  that,  or  of  discouragement  that  he  should 
be  sent  from  New  York,  where  his  family  and  friends  were 
within  easy  reach,  and  that  he  should  be  called  upon  to  re- 
sume the  uncongenial  work  of  teaching.  If  there  was  any 
such  feeling  he  gave  no  indication  of  it  whatever,  but  strug- 
gled heroically  through  the  ordeal. 

Van  Rensselaer  had  the  true  idea  of  the  duty  of  the 
Jesuit  professor  towards  the  boys  or  young  men  under  his 
charge.  The  interest  in  them  begun  in  the  class-room  is  not 
to  end  there,  but  to  follow  the  young  man  after  he  leaves 
college,  and  to  become  one  of  his  most  valuable  assets  during 
his  whole  life.  In  Baltimore,  as  at  Fordham,  he  won 
the  hearts  of  his  pupils  and  became  their  life-long 
friend. 

It  was  in  Baltimore  that  his  literary  activities  may  be 
said  to  have  begun.  As  shown  by  his  autobiographical 
sketch,  he  had  not  only  a  facile  pen,  but  a  keen  literary 
instinct.  His  style  is  distinctive  and  even  characteristic. 
His  memoirs  exhibit  a  vigorous,  graphic  way  of  putting 
things,  a  hatred  for  hypocrisy  and  cant,  a  bitterness,  at 
times,  toward  those  who  differed  with  him,  and  an  expres- 
sion of  his  feelings  which  might  be  termed  playfully  sar- 
castic. His  first  venture  in  print  was  the  composition  of  an 
historical  drama,  in  collaboration  with  a  confrere  of  the  pro- 
fessorial staff.  The  full  title  ran,  "  King  Alfred,  an  His- 
torical Drama  in  Five  Acts."  It  was  printed  for  the  occa- 
sion, and  appeared  again  in  a  second  edition  in  1808.  The 
choice  of  King  Alfred  was  a  happy  one,  as  it  proved  an  ex- 
cellent subject  for  the  college  stage,  enabling  the  young 
actors  to  venture  upon  something  more  serious  and  profit- 

226 


THE  CLASS-ROOM. 

able  than  the  farce  or  "  adapted  "  comedy,  which  generally 
forms  part  of  the  public  entertainments  in  schools.  It  was 
produced  in  the  fall  of  1884,  and  met  with  great  success, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  in  the  battle  scene,  duly  repre- 
sented on  the  college  stage,  all  the  participants  managed  to 
be  slain  in  the  sanguinary  encounter.  The  book  received 
from  the  London  Month  a  very  flattering  notice,  which  we 
reproduce  here : — 

'  The  historical  drama  of  King  Alfred,  which  has  just  been 
produced  by  two  American  writers,  is  an  excellent  version 
of  the  well-known  story.  It  takes  some  liberties  with  the 
actual  sequence  of  events,  but  here  the  authors  have  the 
precedent  of  other  historical  plays  to  justify  them.  They 
have  introduced  the  legendary  incidents  of  the  King's  hiding 
in  the  swineherd's  hut,  the  burning  of  the  cakes,  the 
visit  in  disguise  to  the  Danish  camp,  and  the  rest.  The 
play  is  full  of  incident,  the  comic  element  has  not  been  for- 
gotten, and  there  are  songs  for  which  music  has  been  pro- 
vided, to  give  scope  for  the  vocal  powers  of  the  performer. 
With  the  exception  of  some  humorous  passages,  the  play  is 
in  blank  verse,  and  it  contains  not  a  few  really  beautiful 
lines." 

As  the  Christmas  season  drew  nigh,  his  pen  was  ready 
with  another  drama  which,  as  befitting  the  occasion,  was 
more  religious  and  devotional.  It  was  the  legend  of  good 
King  Wenceslaus,  and  was  acted  by  the  students  on  Christ- 
mas Eve,  as  an  academic  exercise  before  their  departure  for 
the  holidays.  The  theme  was  the  charity  of  the  King  to  the 
poor ;  the  time,  the  eve  of  Christmas,  and  the  moral  obvious 
even  to  the  untutored. 

227 


LIFE   OF   HENRY    VAN    RENSSELAER 

As  Van  Rensselaer  was  still  a  scholastic,  and  free  from 
the  work  of  the  ministry,  he  employed  his  leisure  in  these 
and  similar  literary  pursuits,  helping,  at  least  indirectly,  the 
whole  student  body,  and  fostering  a  college  spirit  among 
them. 

He  wrote  still  another  drama,  "  Felician,"  portraying 
the  life  of  the  early  Christians,  which  reads  like  a 
dramatized  chapter  or  two  of  Wiseman's  "  Fabiola."  Then 
came  a  lecture  in  February,  still  in  MS.,  on  Early  Phases  of 
Christian  Art,  which  formed  one  of  a  series  delivered  by 
members  of  the  College  Faculty.  Another  interesting 
fragment  from  a  never  finished  drama  of  "  Clerical  Life," 
furnishes  an  additional  proof  that  his  pen  was  not 
idle. 

About  this  time  his  interest  in  missionary  work  was  re- 
newed, and  he  wrote  several  valuable  papers  on  the  Indian 
question,  including  a  "  Sketch  of  the  Catholic  Church  in 
Montana,''  "  The  Apostle  of  Alaska,  Archbishop  Seghers," 
both  of  which  appeared  in  the  American  Catholic  Quarterly, 
and  a  "  Plea  for  the  Indians,"  in  the  Catholic  World  for 
March,  1886.  To  appreciate  the  motive  of  his  writing  on 
these  subjects  it  may  be  well  to  state  that,  while  teaching  at 
Loyola,  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  offer  himself  for  the 
Indian  Missions.  The  reasons  which  induced  him  to  take 
this  step  were  manifold.  He  was  aware  that  he  was  not  a 
success  in  the  class-room,  and  in  the  missionary  field  there 
was  plenty  of  other  work  in  which  he  might  prove  more  suc- 
cessful. A  thought  which  particularly  appealed  to  him  was, 
that  the  Indians  had  a  claim  upon  the  descendants  of  those 
who  held  their  lands,  and  at  that  time  his  family  was  still  in 
possession  of  such  lands.  Then,  too,  Americans,  he  fancied, 
could,     in     the     far     West     labor     more     effectively     than 

228 


THE  CLASS-ROOM. 

foreigners ;  they  might  understand  better  the  character  of 
the  settlers  with  whom  the  Indians  come  in  contact,  and 
they  could  better  represent  to  the  Government  officials,  both 
high  and  low,  the  grievances  of  the  aborigines  and  defend 
them  by  voice  and  pen  against  the  encroachments  or  the  in- 
justices of  the  whites ;  and  why,  he  added,  should  Americans 
sit  still  and  deplore  the  great  lack  of  missionaries,  and  yet 
not  volunteer  to  make  good  the  deficiency?  In  the  Mary- 
land-New York  province  there  seemed  to  be  no  dearth  of 
laborers,  but  it  was  not  an  easy  matter  to  find  recruits  for 
the  Rocky  Mountains. 

The  spiritual  aspect  of  this  self-immolation  commended 
itself  above  aught  else,  for  he  was  convinced  that  this  greater 
sacrifice  on  his  part  would  be  fruitful  even  for  those  of  his 
family  who  were  still  Protestants,  and,  after  all,  was  he  not 
but  following  up  the  first  inclination  he  had  as  a  Catholic, 
to  be  a  missionary  in  Africa.  These  reasons,  and  the  dis- 
like he  had  for  a  life  of  comparative  ease,  urged  him  to  make 
the  sacrifice.  Accordingly,  he  laid  the  matter  before  his 
superiors  and  with  their  approval  wrote  to  the  General  at 
Rome  asking  to  be  transferred  to  the  Mission  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  It  speaks  well  for  his  missionary  zeal,  for  his 
spirit  of  detachment  from  places  and  persons,  that  he  was  not 
only  willing  to  offer,  but  actually  offered  himself  for  this  ar- 
duous missionary  work,  and  had  no  feeling  but  one  of  joy  at 
the  prospect. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  his  petition  was  granted,  and 
the  transfer  was  made.  His  name  was  dropped  from  the 
Province  roll  and  duly  entered  among  the  members  of  the 
Rocky  Mountain  Mission.  On  the  Feast  of  the  Immacu- 
late Conception,  1884,  at  the  foot  of  Our  Lady's  Altar,  he 
made  the  following  vow : — 

229 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

Loyola  College,   Baltimore,   Md. 

Feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  1884. 

I,  Henry  Van  Rensselaer,  Scholastic  of  the  So- 
ciety of  Jesus,  do,  on  this  day,  the  Patronal  Feast 
of  the  Church  in  the  United  States,  solemnly  offer 
and  devote  myself  forever  to  the  Apostolate  of  the 
Indian  Mission  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  so  help  me 
God,  Our  Lady,  Our  Holy  Father  Ignatius  and  St. 
Francis  Xavier,  Apostle  of  the  Indies. 
Amen. 

Henry  Van  Rensselaer,  S  J. 
L.  D.  S. 

It  is  easy  for  us  to  look  back  and  admire  God's  way  of 
dealing  with  this  noble  soul.  Had  this  change  been  ef- 
fected, the  Far  West  would  have  gained  another  mis- 
sionary, but  New  York  would  have  lost  an  apostle.  The 
"  divinity  that  shapes  our  ends,  rough-hew  them  how  we 
will,"  was  preparing  his  soul  for  the  work  of  converting 
the  sinner  by  re-casting  his  character  in  the  heroic  mould  of 
self-sacrifice.  He  might  never  reach  the  object  of  his  de- 
sires, but  the  ambition  to  be  worthy  of  it  and  to  fit  himself 
for  it,  was  the  secret  alembic  that  transformed  him  into  an 
apostle.  The  great  St.  Francis  Xavier  yearned  for  the  con- 
version of  China,  and  died  before  he  touched  the  shores. 
Yet  he  is  the  Apostle  of  China,  in  intent  and  purpose,  and  to 
his  brilliant  coronal  of  triumphs  he  has  added  new  lustre 
through  his  longing  to  add  to  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  the 
vast  multitudes  of  the  Celestial  Empire. 

Henry  Van  Rensselaer's  hopes  of  laboring  among  the 

230 


THE  CLASS-ROOM. 

Indians,  for  whose  salvation  he  had  solemnly  pledged  his 
life,  were  never  realized,  but  who  will  be  bold  enough  to 
say  that  the  glory  of  his  apostolic  life  among  the  sick  and 
the  poor  is  not  enhanced  before  God  by  the  act  of  generosity 
which  prompted  him  to  offer  the  best  that  was  in  him  for 
the  salvation  of  the  ill-treated  and  neglected  red-man? 

We  have  at  our  disposal  only  one  letter  coming  from 
Baltimore.  It  was  written  to  Sister  Dolores  and  is  a  beau- 
tiful expression  of  the  thoughts  which  refreshed  his  spirit. 
In  it  we  get  a  glimpse  of  a  very  tender  devotion  to  the 
Blessed  Virgin. 

"  Loyola  College, 

"  Baltimore,  1885. 

"  A  happy  coincidence  of  Our  Lady's  feast  with  one  of  the 
most  glorious  of  the  year,  and  appropriate,  too,  for  how 
was  she  the  help  of  Christians  except  by  being  the  Spouse 
of  the  Holy  Ghost?  The  devotion  to  the  Holy  Ghost  has 
always  been  one  of  my  favorites ;  it  does  not  necessarily  re- 
quire practices  that  would  occupy  much  time,  an  occasional 
1  Gloria  '  during  the  day  in  thanksgiving  for  all  his  benefits. 
We  do  not  thank  God  enough ;  the  Psalmist  says :  "  His 
praise  shall  be  ever  in  my  mouth."  Nothing  is  so  gracious 
as  thanksgiving.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  the  author  and  in- 
spirer  of  grace.  On  His  motion  do  we  depend  for  every 
meritorious  thought,  word  and  action.  To  Him  we  owe  all 
the  Sacraments  and  all  His  seven-fold  gifts.  Are  not  these 
motives  for  special  devotion?  We  shall  never  know  until 
we  see  her  face  to  face  what  Our  Lady  has  been  to  us.  Just 
as  one  never  realizes  how  much  one's  own  mother  is  to  one 

231 


LIFE   OF   HENRY   VAN    RENSSELAER 

until  separation  proves  how  quietly,  unobtrusively,  lovingly, 
she  has  been  rendering  us  continual  services.  In  Mary's 
case  we  shall  never  find  out  by  separation,  but  in  the  light 
of  the  Beatific  Vision  all  will  be  made  plain  to  us.  I  attribute 
my  vocation  to  her,  remembering  what  an  impression  the 
title  '  Queen  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  '  made  upon  me  when 
I  first  heard  it  at  West  Park. 

"  It  drew  me  to  desire  to  be  her  special  subject  in  this,  her 
kingdom.  I  came  across  a  saying  in  a  book  relating  to  the 
Christian  life :  k  Si  on  est  moins  qu'un  heros,  on  devient 
moins  qu'un  homme  ' ;  it  seemed  to  me  that  we  might  put 
it  in  this  way :  '  Si  on  est  moins  qu'un  saint,  on  devient 
moins  qu'un  religieux.'  To  avoid  this  wTe  must  set  to  work 
in  earnest  to  become  saints.  Let  us  run  a  race — I  challenge 
you.  This  year  of  college  life  has  been  given  me  by  Our 
Lord  for  a  time  of  reparation." 


232 


CHAPTER    XIII. 
Ordained  a  Priest. 

IN  the  fall  of  1885,  Van  Rensselaer  began  his  theological 
studies  at  Woodstock  preparatory  to  ordination.  The 
fact  that  he  had  new  the  Rocky  Mountains  Mission  to  look 
forward  to  filled  him  with  enthusiasm,  and  his  pen  was  ac- 
tive in  behalf  of  the  Indians.  Soon  after  his  arrival  he 
wrote  to  his  sister : 

"  Woodstock  College, 

"  September  19,  1885. 

"I  am  glad  to  be  once  more  settled  and  at  work.  I  have 
got  the  one  thing  I  needed  to  add  to  my  means  of  perfecting 
myself,  and  that  is  the  missionary  vocation.  I  am  now  as 
light-hearted  and  merry  as  a  boy.  There  are  several  as- 
pirants to  the  mission  here,  and  Alaska  is  to  some  the  land 
of  promise,  desired  because  of  its  privations — the  spirit 
of  St.  Ignatius  still  breathing  in  his  children.  Do  you  see 
the  '  Fervorinos  '  on  the  Indians  and  Alaska  in  the  Catho- 
lic Review?     Perhaps  you  recognize  the  hand?" 

The  following  letters,  addressed  likewise  to  Sister  Dolores, 
display  not  only  an  intense  desire  to  advance  steadily  in  the 
pathway  of  sanctification,  but  an  anxiety  to  have  her  also 
profit  by  the  experiences  in  the  spiritual  life  which  he  was 
daily  undergoing.  Apart  from  the  help  they  furnish  to- 
wards a  better  understanding  of  the  process  by  which  his 
character  was  moulded,  they  may  be  found  useful  for  those 

233 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

in  the  cloister  or  outside  of  it  who  would  be  guided  by 
supernatural  principles  in  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life. 


"  Woodstock, 

"  Feast  of  Immac.  Cone,  1885. 

"  My  Dear  Sister  Dolores: 

P.  C. 

"  It  seems  to  me  a  very  long  time  since  I  wrote  to  you 
last.  Why  I  have  been  so  remiss,  I  cannot  say.  The  best 
thing  is  to  repair  the  omission.  We  have  finished  a  triduum 
before  the  semi-annual  renovation  of  our  vows.  It  was  a 
treat,  for  we  had  Father  Maguire  to  give  it.  There  is  some- 
thing magnetic  about  him.  All  that  he  says  is  very  simple, 
but  very  impressive,  owing  to  the  way  in  which  he  says  it. 
The  real  force  is,  I  think,  his  personal  holiness.  That  makes 
the  apostle ;  that  wins  souls  and  stirs  up  the  lukewarm  into  a 
glow.  That  is  something  by  which  you  too  can  be  an  apos- 
tle, for  it  is  common  to  all  those  devoted  to  God.  What 
other  reason  had  we  for  becoming  religious  than  to  become 
holy?  It  was  that  which  God  willed  for  us  when  in  His  mys- 
terious wisdom  He  chose  and  called  us,  to  draw  us  nearer  to 
Himself,  to  be  among  His  own  immediate  familiar  friends, 
close  to  His  own  Person,  to  shower  upon  us  constant  proofs 
of  His  love  and  friendship.  '  This  is  the  will  of  God,  even 
our  sanctification.'  Is  it  our  will  too?"  Is  it  an  efficacious 
will  which  directs  the  use  of  means  to  gain  that  end  ?  Oh, 
how  comparatively  easy  it  is  to  acquire  holiness !  We  have 
only  to  use  the  means  within  our  reach.  No  heights  of 
meditation  and  contemplation  are  required,  no  macerations 

234 


ORDAINED  A  PRIEST. 

of  the  body  absolutely  needful,  no  extraordinary  works  to  be 
wrought.  We  have  only  to  live  in  union  with  Jesus  Christ 
and  His  Blessed  Mother,  only  to  fulfil  each  little  insignificant 
duty  as  it  presents  itself  for  His  sake ;  in  a  word,  only  to  cor- 
respond with  the  grace  and  inspiration  He  gives  us,  only  to 
obey  Him  in  our  superiors.  Not  a  hard  task,  it  may  seem, 
but  still  it  is ;  the  very  easiness  of  it  makes  it  hard,  strange  as 
that  sounds.  We  could  force  ourselves  to  do  great  and  out- 
of-the-way  things  more  easily  perhaps  than  small,  common- 
place things.  We  find  an  hour's  or  a  half-hour's  medita- 
tion a  hard  and  irksome  work  perhaps,  yet  we  may  delude 
ourselves  by  imagining  ourselves  capable  of  a  life  of  con- 
templation. We  offer  ourselves  as  victims  for  ignominy  and 
insult,  yet  we  turn  pale  and  are  indignant  if  anyone  seems 
to  treat  us  with  less  than  ordinary  respect.  We  would  per- 
form wonderful  feats  of  fasting;  we  cannot  even  put  up 
with  the  food  set  before  us  without  grumbling  at  least  in 
our  hearts.  Yet  God  asks  really  so  little  of  us.  '  Age  quod 
agis! '  Whatever  you  do,  do  it  with  all  your  heart.  That 
makes  the  saint.  That  made  the  sanctity  of  good  Father 
Sadlier,*  for  I  believe  that  he  was  a  saint,  ever  forgetful  of 
himself,  ever  mindful  of  others,  self-sacrificing  to  a  fault. 
Devout,  but  without  ostentation,  a  piety  that  charmed  and 
won  affection.  I  had  the  happiness  of  spending  three  weeks 
at  the  Boston  Villa  with  him,  and  there  I  discovered  his 
virtues  and  rejoice  to  have  known  him,  for  he  was  a  true 
son  of  Ignatius,  ripe  for  Heaven,  and  so  we  lost 
him.       ..." 


♦Francis  Xavier  Sadlier,  S.J.,  mentioned  in  this  letter,  was  the 
son  of  Mrs.  James  Sadlier,  the  well-known  writer.  He  died  at  Holy 
Cross  College,  Worcester,  Mass,  on  the  fourteenth  of  November,  1885, 
with  a  great  repute  for  holiness. 

235 


LIFE   OF   HENRY    VAN    RENSSELAER 

"  .  .  .  One  thought  seemed  to  run  through  the 
whole  of  our  retreat  this  year  which  may  be  useful  to  you. 
Conformity  to  the  will  of  God  is  the  touchstone  which  turns 
all  to  gold.  Nature  rebels  at  something  said  or  ordered, 
something  unpleasant.  It  is  the  will  of  God.  Why  should 
I  rebel  against  it?  It  is  unpleasant  only  because  I  put  my- 
self in  opposition  to  it.  How  much  the  imagination  has  to 
do  with  our  judgments!  It  should  not  be  so;  but  still  it  is 
so.  God  wants  it  of  me.  Is  not  this  sufficient  motive  to 
make  sweet  anything  bitter?  But,  one  will  say,  I  don't  like 
it.  Don't  like  what  God  wishes?  Let  him  make  an  act  of 
faith,  and,  by  the  help  of  God,  he  will  like  it.  The  battle  is 
over,  the  struggle  is  at  an  end.  It  seemed  to  me  that  this  one 
thought  would,  if  made  a  constant  companion  to  be  consulted 
on  all  occasions,  make  us  saints  in  a  very  short  time.  It  has 
done  so  in  times  past,  why  not  then  in  ours  ? 

"  Try  this  receipt  and  tell  me  if  you  do  not  find  it  palata- 
ble. I  am  so  glad  to  have  the  chance  of  assisting  at  a  Bene- 
diction in  your  beautiful  chapel.  In  two  years,  D.  V.,  I 
hope  to  give  it  myself.  Oh,  how  holy  one  should  be  to  be 
entrusted  with  such  an  office ! 

"  Pray  then  for  me,  and  commend  me  to  your  good  sis- 
ters in  religion. 

"  Ever  your  affectionate  brother, 

"  Henry  Van  Rensselaer,  S.J." 

"  January  31,  1886. 
"  My  Dear  Sister  Dolores  : 

"  P.  C. 
"  I  don't  think  that  I  have  written  to  you  this  year,  so  I 
had  better  begin  before  the  first  month  has  passed.     I  was 

236 


ORDAINED  A  PRIEST. 

quite  shocked  at 's  death,  coming  as  it  did  so  suddenly. 

I  hope  it  found  him  well  prepared.     It  must  be  a  great 
trial  to  his  wife. 

"  I  sent  her  a  most  consoling  account  of  the  death  of  the 
celebrated  Father  Hermann's  mother.  You  remember  he 
was  the  wonderful  musician,  pupil  of  Liszt,  a  friend  of 
Georges  Sand,  Mario,  and  others — a  Jew,  miraculously 
converted  by  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  He  afterwards  became 
a  Carmelite,  was  distinguished  for  his  sanctity,  and  died  a 
martyr  of  charity  attending  the  soldiers  in  the  Franco-Prus- 
sian war.  Well,  the  aim  of  his  life  was  the  conversion  of  his 
family,  and  especially  of  his  mother.  In  spite  of  all  his  ef- 
forts she  died  a  Jewess  apparently,  to  his  intense  grief.  He 
spoke  of  it  to  the  Cure  d'Ars,  who  told  him  that  six 
years  later,  on  the  feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  he 
would  have  good  news.  The  six  years  passed,  and  on  the 
day  named  Father  Hermann  received  a  letter  through  a 
Jesuit  Father  from  a  lady,  who,  after  edifying  the  world 
by  her  piety  and  by  the  devotional  books  she  wrote,  died  in 
the  odor  of  sanctity.  To  make  a  long  story  short  she  re- 
ceived a  revelation  in  which  the  whole  scene  of  Father  Her- 
mann's mother's  death  was  shown  to  her.  After  the  last 
breath,  or  at  least  when  it  seemed  that  she  had  lost  con- 
sciousness and  had  ceased  to  breathe,  Our  Blessed  Lady 
threw  herself  before  the  throne  of  her  Son  and  begged  as  a 
special  favor  to  her,  the  soul  of  the  mother  of  her  servant 
Hermann,  who  had  so  faithfully  served  her  and  had  com- 
mitted to  her  keeping  the  soul  of  his  mother  a  thousand 
times.  She  implored  Our  Lord  not  to  allow  this 
precious  soul  to  be  lost,  and  the  petition  was  granted,  for 
straightway  a  mighty  grace  was  given  to  the  dying  Jewess ; 
in  a  flash  she  saw  the  whole  truth  and  cried  out  interiorly : 

237 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

'  O  Jesus !  God  of  the  Christians,  the  God  whom  my  son 
adores,  I  believe  in  Thee,  I  hope  in  Thee,  have  pity  on  me,' 
and  she  was  saved.  The  lady  was  bidden  by  Our  Lord  to 
communicate  this  to  Father  Hermann  for  his  consolation, 
and  as  a  proof  of  the  power  of  Our  Blessed  Lady  over  the 
Sacred  Heart  of  her  Divine  Son.  Did  you  ever  hear  any- 
thing more  consoling  and  strengthening  than  this?  It  has 
given  me  a  new  impulse  in  the  spiritual  life,  a  strong  deter- 
mination to  show  myself,  as  St.  Ignatius  says,  remarkable 
in  God's  service. 

"  The  whole  life  of  Father  Hermann  is  very  striking  and 
has  had  a  wonderful  effect  on  me,  showing  me  how  ungrate- 
ful I  am,  I,  who  like  him,  have  received  so  many  extraor- 
dinary graces,  and  yet  am  so  backward  in  perfection  after 
seven  years  of  religious  life.  Let  it  animate  us  both  to 
greater  efforts.  Is  it  not  shameful  that  we  should  be  such 
ordinary  religious,  yielding  to  so  many  pettinesses  and  weak- 
nesses, and  scarcely  ashamed  of  them,  excusing  them  as 
common  to  our  nature?  Common,  indeed,  they  are,  but  we, 
who  are  vessels  of  election,  should  triumph  over  them.  We 
haven't  confidence  enough  in  God,  we  haven't  the  idea  ever 
before  our  minds  that  God  expects  more  of  those  to  whom  he 
has  given  more.  We  don't  dare  attempt  great  things,  and 
what  are  great  things  ?  prolonged  prayer,  and  fasting,  etc.  ? 
Not  necessarily,  but  the  greatest  thing  is  self-immolation, 
self-conquest,  to  which  we  can  turn  every  action  of  our  lives, 
every  word  we  speak.  We  shall  never  be  truly  and  solidly 
at  peace  and  full  of  joy  until  we  rest  not  in  self,  but  in 
God  alone.  Never  happy  until  our  thoughts  turn  naturally 
to  God  without  our  bidding,  until  all  we  do  is  done  for 
Him;  if  done  for  Him,  everything  will  become  sweet  in 
the  doing,  everything  will  be  well  done,   for  we  are  not 

238 


ORDAINED  A  PRIEST. 

servants,  but  sons  of  His  love.  Pray  much  for  my  advance- 
ment; it  is  so  easy  to  grow  weary  and  work  by  fits  and 
starts,  in  which  case  we  accomplish  nothing. 

"  Ever  your  devoted  brother, 

"  Henry  Van  Rensselaer,  S.J." 


"  April  23,  1886. 

"  My  Dear  Sister  Dolores: 

"  P.  C. 

"  I  want  these  few  lines  of  greeting  to  reach  you  by  Easter, 
and  therefore  I  write  to-day.  I  hope  that  you  have  been  able 
to  take  part  in  some  of  the  Holy  Week  services.  Ours  have 
been,  so  far,  very  devotional.  I  am  always  fortunate  in 
being  in  the  choir,  so  that  I  have  an  active  part.  Besides 
this  I  painted  a  beautiful  Paschal  candle.  I  tried  my  hand 
last  year  with  a  certain  amount  of  success,  and  I  felt  en- 
couraged to  offer  to  paint  one  for  the  Chapel  this  year.  It  is 
very  elaborate.  I  put  on  some  brilliant  crimson  bands,  re- 
lieved with  tracery  of  black  and  gold,  and  in  the  first  division 
I  placed  the  cross,  where  the  blessed  grains  of  incense  go, 
filled  out  in  bright  blue  and  gold.  In  the  panel  above  are  two 
palms  crossed,  representing  victory  over  death  and  hell ; 
above  comes  a  butterfly,  emblem  of  the  resurrection,  then  the 
monogram  of  the  first  two  letters  in  the  Greek  name  of 
Christ  X.  P.  (Chi,  Rho)  and  above  all  the  crown. 

"  A  thought  that  has  made  a  deep  impression  on  me  these 
last  few  days,  especially  yesterday  (Maundy  Thursday),  is 
the  necessity  of  practical  charity  in  our  thoughts.     I  say 

239 


LIFE   OF   HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

practical,   because  we  have  it   in  abundance  theoretically; 
what  we  need  is  the  practice.      .      .      . " 

As  the  day  of  his  ordination  to  the  priesthood  approached, 
his  happiness  increased.  No  wonder;  it  would  mark  the 
end  of  long  years  of  preparation  and  the  consummation  of 
the  longings  of  a  lifetime.  He  would  shortly  appear  in 
a  new  role  as  the  representative  of  the  Good  Shepherd  seek- 
ing the  lost  sheep  within  and  without  the  fold,  and  dis- 
pensing the  Divine  mercies  to  the  sons  of  men.  No  one 
could  act  the  part  well  who  had  not  studied  the  character 
lie  was  to  portray  and  imbued  himself  with  the  spirit  of  the 
Divine  Master. 

In  April,  1886,  he  wrote: — 

"  I  have  never  felt  better  than  during  this  Lent ;  so  you 
see  theology  agrees  with  me.  I  am  not  sorry,  though,  that  a 
year  out  of  the  course  is  nearly  gone ;  a  year  nearer  the  end. 
Next  year  at  this  time  I  hope  to  be  practising  the  ceremonies 
cf  the  Mass.  Pray  that  I  may  become  more  self-sacrificing 
and  unselfish.  It  is  so  necessary  in  a  priest,  above  all  in  a 
Jesuit,  and  most  of  all  in  a  missionary.  I  take  the  greatest 
comfort  and  delight  in  the  thought  of  the  missions.  What 
a  debt  we  have  to  pay  the  Indians !  " 

In  the  month  of  May  he  dwells  upon  a  thought  from  one 
of  his  meditations. 

"  We  had  our  triduum  last  week  and  the  Renovation  on 
Sunday.  A  thought  that  came  to  me  most  forcibly  was  the 
*  Quid  ad  te?  Tu  sequere  me.'  Why  do  we  lose  our  peace 
of  mind?  Very  often  by  worrying  and  meddling  about 
others.     Quid  ad  te?    What  business  is  it  of  mine?    I  came 

240 


ORDAINED  A  PRIEST. 

into  religion  to  sanctify  myself  primarily.  If  others  have 
this  or  that  defect,  quid  ad  te?  Attend  to  yourself,  and  you 
will  have  more  than  enough  to  do  in  following  Christ.  How 
can  we  keep  step  with  Him  if  we  are  perpetually  turning 
aside  to  follow  others  ?  Sequcre  me — that  is  our  work,  to  fol- 
low Christ,  and  that  demands  all  our  attention.  We  shall 
accomplish  most  for  others  by  closely  following  Him,  for 
did  He  not  go  about  doing  good.  Living  charity  is  the  most 
powerful  preacher,  and  example  does  more  than  eloquent 
words.  Our  Blessed  Lady  will  be  as  she  has  always  been, 
our  Auxilium." 

Six  months  later,  on  the  Feast  of  the  Immaculate  Con- 
ception, he  speaks  of  a  renewed  and  strengthened  purpose 
to  become  holy. 

"  Our  triduum  is  over  and  has  brought  me  great  peace 
of  mind  and  a  strong  determination  to  make  a  new  start. 
Rather  a  shameful  confession  that,  after  eight  years  of 
religious  life. 

"  But  were  not  these  very  renewals  of  our  vows  intended 
for  this  very  purpose.  It  is  a  great  grace  not  to  be  dis- 
couraged at  one's  failures.  Disgusted  with  ourselves  we 
may  be,  but  the  grace  of  God  is  so  strong,  the  intercession 
of  our  Mother  so  powerful,  the  prayers  of  our  saints  so 
fruitful,  that  we  must  say,  '  I  can  do  all  in  Him  Who 
strengthened  me.'  Courage,  then,  and  confidence,  and  we 
shall  see  what  Christmas  will  bring  us." 

When  the  day  set  for  his  ordination  was  announced  his 
joy  knew  no  bounds,  as  is  attested  by  the  brief  extracts 
from  his  correspondence  here  given : — 

241 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

"  Woodstock, 

"  March  28,  1887. 

"  On  Friday,  the  Feast  of  the  Compassion  of  the  most 
Holy  Virgin,  I  shall  begin  an  eight  days'  retreat  to  prepare 
for  the  crowning  happiness  of  my  life,  my  priesthood.  I 
have  permission  to  be  ordained  in  New  York  on  the  eve  of 
Trinity  Sunday.  It  all  seems  too  good  to  be  true,  and  I  al- 
most dread  at  times  that  it  is  a  dream — only  two  months 
more.  I  have  the  loftiest  ideal  of  what  I  should  be,  but  oh, 
how  far  off  from  it  I  am!  This  Holy  Week  must  be  the 
turning  point  in  my  life  and  the  beginning  of  a  risen  life  of 
unselfish  devotion." 

"  Easter  Eve, 

"  April  9,  1887. 

"  I  never  had  two  happier  days  than  those  on  which  1  re- 
ceived the  two  steps  to  the  altar.  Bishop  Curtis  pontificated, 
and  it  added  much  to  my  joy  to  have  him.  I  have  just  fin- 
ished acting  as  deacon  at  this  morning's  ceremonies,  in 
which  I  sang  the  '  Exultet '  and  that  beautiful  '  Ite  missa 
est,  alleluia.'  " 

The  Eve  of  Trinity  Sunday,  1887,  saw  Father  Van  Rens- 
selaer raised  to  the  dignity  of  the  priesthood.  The  ceremony 
took  place  in  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  New  York,  with  Arch- 
bishop Corrigan  officiating.  The  next  day  the  newly  or- 
dained priest  said  his  Mass  with  much  fervor  in  the  Church 

242 


ORDAINED  A  PRIEST. 

of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  and  a  day  or  two  later  returned  to 
Woodstock  to  complete  his  studies  in  theology  and  prepare 
as  he  thought  for  the  Indian  Missions. 

The  life  he  was  now  entering  upon  was  altogether  new 
— the  life  of  a  priest.  Hitherto  his  uppermost  thought  and 
endeavor  had  been  his  own  sanctification ;  henceforth  he  was 
to  blend  with  that  the  sanctification  of  his  neighbor.  He 
felt,  though  he  did  not  express  it  in  words,  that  a  new  spirit 
had  come  over  him,  that  with  special  significance  might  be 
applied  to  him  the  words  of  Scripture :  '  The  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  is  upon  me  wherefore  He  hath  anointed  me ;  to  preach 
the  Gospel  to  the  poor  He  hath  sent  me,  to  heal  the  contrite 
of  heart ' ;  and  with  the  graces  of  his  ordination  imparting 
this  new  life,  he  began  that  silent  apostolate  for  which  he 
was  to  become  so  noted  later.  We  are  not  left  altogether  in 
the  dark  as  to  his  first  works  of  zeal,  nor  are  we  surprised  to 
find  that  he  began  on  the  most  unpromising  material,  the 
tramps.  The  following  letter  came  from  Woodstock  some 
time  in  the  spring  of  1888  : — 

"  The  hour  of  the  Holy  Sacrifice  is  the  happiest  one  of 
the  day  for  me,  and  Holy  Week  will  indeed  be  one  of  pen- 
ance, when  we  shall  have  to  forego  the  Offering  for  three 
days. 

"  I  have  had  great  consolations  lately  with  my  tramps ; 
one,  well  educated  and  well  connected,  a  Protestant,  came 
three  weeks  ago.  I  took  an  interest  in  his  case  and  brought 
him  into  the  parlor,  encouraged  him  and  tried  to  restore  his 
self-respect.  I  gave  him  a  Catholic  book  to  read  while  I 
was  in  class  and  explained  some  Catechism  to  him.  When 
he  left  me  after  a  few  hours,  he  had  learned  to  make  the 
Sign  of  the  Cross  and  the  Hail  Mary,  and  had  formed  a 

243 


LIFE  OF   HENRY   VAN    RENSSELAER 

firm  resolution  to  become  a  Catholic.  I  recommended  him 
to  invoke  St.  Joseph  for  a  position.  He  did  so,  and  has  now 
a  place  in  the  best  dry-goods  house  in  Baltimore  with  a 
salary  of  eighteen  dollars  a  week.  Is  not  that  a  triumph  of 
the  Sacred  Heart  ?  He  said :  '  I  never  knew  what  prayer 
was  before.' 

"  There  are  many  other  instances,  too ;  one,  a  Jew  of 
twenty-five,  who  had  passed  himself  off  as  a  Catholic,  so  that 
a  companion,  a  real  Catholic,  always  believed  him  to  be  one. 
I  exhorted  both  to  confession  and  put  before  them  clearly  the 
end  for  which  they  were  created.  They  had  their  supper 
and  went  off  to  a  hay-rick,  where  my  transient  boarders 
lodge.  There  the  Jew  confessed  the  truth  to  his  companion, 
but  said  he  wanted  to  become  a  Catholic,  and  the  other  re- 
solved, after  many  years,  to  square  his  accounts.  The  next 
morning  they  came  to  breakfast  and  begged  to  remain 
another  day.  The  Jew  had  learned  the  Our  Father,  Hail 
Mary,  Creed  and  Act  of  Contrition,  and  insisted  on  being 
baptized.  I  put  him  off  with  an  evasive  answer  and  made 
him  study  Catechism  all  that  day.  In  the  meantime  I  con- 
sulted Father  Rector,  and  he  said :  '  If  he  knows  sufficient 
Catechism  and  what  he  is  doing,  he  might,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, be  baptized.'  So,  after  Mass  the  next  day — it 
was  a  holiday,  the  22d  of  February — I  went  through  the 
whole  Christian  doctrine  with  him  and  then  baptized  him. 
Happily  one  of  the  workmen  left  that  day,  and  Father  Min- 
ister told  me  I  might  keep  both  men.  They  have  been 
here  a  month  and  give  great  edification  in  every  way; 
another  triumph  of  the  Sacred  Heart.  I  think  I  have  found 
my  vocation  in  the  Society,  the  waifs  and  wanderers.  *  The 
poor  have  the  gospel  preached  to  them.'  Not  that  I  have 
given  up  the  Indians,  far  from  it,  but  there  are  hosts  of 

244 


ORDAINED  A  PRIEST. 

neglected  men  in  the  Far  West,  waiting  for  some  one  to 
stretch  out  a  hand  to  them." 

On  Christmas  day,  he  wrote :  "  As  you  see,  I  am  at 
home  this  year.  We  had  Midnight  Mass,  at  which  I  as- 
sisted, then  rested  till  five  when  I  began  my  three  Masses. 
I  had  everything  beautiful  about  me,  the  decorated  chapel, 
handsome  vestments,  and  rich  sacred  vessels,  but  no  con- 
gregation to  assist.  Next  year  I  hope  I  shall  be  in  the  Moun- 
tains with  a  crowd  of  faithful  Indians,  or  cowboys,  or  whites, 
it  does  not  matter  much,  provided  there  are  souls  to  be 
helped.  It  is  hard  for  me  to  hold  myself  in.  I  have  had  such 
an  abundance  of  zeal,  which  will,  I  hope,  have  an  outlet  in 
about  three  months.  After  all,  what  is  the  greatest  work 
in  the  sight  of  God  ?  Our  sanctification.  This  is  the  thing 
to  be  kept  in  view.  God  wants  me  to  be  a  saint;  if  I  am 
faithful  He  will  work  great  things  for  His  glory  through 
me.     How?     That  is  for  Him  to  determine." 


245 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
Work  in  the  Ministry. 

IN  the  Spring  of  1889,  Father  Van  Rensselaer  began  his 
zealous  labors  in  New  York  City.  For  four  years  he  had 
looked  forward  to  a  life  among  the  Indians  of  the  North- 
West,  but  at  the  last  moment  a  new  Provincial  of  the  Mary- 
land-New York  Province  used  his  influence  to  keep  him  in 
the  East.  This  Superior  felt  that  the  good  to  be  accom- 
plished among  the  Indians  by  the  newly  ordained  priest 
was  largely  problematical,  while  the  province  over  which  he 
presided  could  ill  afford  to  lose  the  services  of  so  valuable 
a  man.  Submissively,  Father  Van  Rensselaer  accepted  the 
transfer  to  his  former  status  in  the  Maryland-New  York 
Province  and  was  soon  after  detailed  for  duty  at  St.  Francis 
Xavier's,  West  Sixteenth  street,  New  York. 

It  would  be  no  easy  task  to  give  even  a  succinct  account 
of  the  various  works  of  zeal  that  filled  up  the  seventeen 
years  of  his  ministry  in  the  metropolis.  A  large  share  of 
the  parish  work  fell  to  his  lot,  yet  he  never  seemed  to  grow 
weary,  and  no  matter  how  numerous  his  activities,  he  was 
always  ready  to  undertake  more.  Sick  calls,  Masses  at 
inconvenient  hours,  service  in  hospitals,  visits  to  the  poor, 
sermons  and  lectures,  retreats,  triduums,  sodalities  of  men 
and  boys,  class  for  converts,  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Society, 
Xavier  Club,  Deaf  Mutes,  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians, 
Knights  of  Columbus;  daily  visits  to  the  Xavier  Club  and 
the  Nazareth  Day  Nursery,  confessions,  baptisms,  marriages, 

246 


WORK  IN  THE  MINISTRY. 

pledges  to  the  intemperate,  employment  for  the  needy,  visits 
to  the  prisons ;  all  these  represent  in  a  general  way  the  round 
of  occupations  that  kept  him  busy  from  dawn  till  far  into  the 
night.  The  bare  enumeration  of  these  works  of  mercy  and 
love  sounds  like  a  litany  of  his  good  deeds  in  the  vineyard 
of  his  Father.  With  all  this  he  never  murmured  nor  gave 
the  impression  of  being  overworked.  He  went  about  each 
duty  as  if  that  were  his  only  concern  in  life.  It  is  only 
when  all  his  zealous  labors  are  catalogued  and  viewed  in 
retrospect  that  the  list  causes  one  to  inquire  in  astonishment 
how  he  was  able  to  accomplish  so  much.  Would  you  believe 
that  he  found  time,  moreover,  to  write  plays  of  an  amusing 
character  for  his  young  men,  and  that  he  took  charge  of 
the  rehearsals  himself? 

He  had  a  predilection  for  singing  High  Mass  on  Sundays, 
and  no  church  service,  however  long  or  fatiguing — and  there 
were  many  in  the  course  of  the  year  at  St.  Francis  Xavier's 
— caused  him  to  utter  a  word  of  complaint.  "  The  Three 
Hours'  Agony  "  on  Good  Friday  he  claimed  for  himself. 
Except  upon  one  occasion,  when  he  gave  the  discourses  upon 
the  Seven  Words  from  the  Cross,  he  always  led  the  exer- 
cises, the  fervent  unction  with  which  he  recited  the  prayers 
never  failing  to  move  the  hearts  of  the  people  and  to  con- 
tribute largely  to  the  beauty  and  dignity  of  the  devotion. 

He  had  little  love  for  preaching,  and  the  most  enthusiastic 
admirer  would  hardly  have  called  him  an  orator.  Still  he 
occasionally  surpassed  himself  and  discoursed  with  genuine 
eloquence.  His  last  sermon  at  High  Mass  was  delivered 
at  St.  Francis  Xavier's,  in  October,  1906,  and  those  who 
heard  him  on  that  occasion  will  recall  the  original  way  in 
which  he  handled  a  trite  subject.  The  gospel  of  the  day 
was  the  parable  of  the  unmerciful  servant.     The  preacher 

247 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

unfolded  the  narrative  after  his  own  fashion,  and  then  made 
an  application  to  existing  conditions  of  human  society.  He 
called  the  parable  a  drama  in  three  acts.  In  the  first  act, 
there  is  the  debtor  of  ten  thousand  talents,  or,  say,  a  million 
dollars.  The  King  is  the  magnate,  the  captain  of  industry, 
the  multi-millionaire.  The  servant  who  owes  a  million  dol- 
lars is  his  right-hand  man,  or  agent,  or  charge  d'affaires. 
But  in  modern  parlance  he  is  "  a  plunger  "  and  has  been  risk- 
ing his  master's  money  and  speculating  in  stocks,  counting,  of 
course,  on  the  sure  thing.  Then  comes  the  unexpected  slump 
in  the  market,  followed  by  the  usual  catastrophe,  and  the  dis- 
honest speculator  loses  everything,  even  that  which  he  could 
never  have  claimed  as  his  own.  There  is  no  way  out  of  his 
embarrassment  except  to  throw  himself  on  the  mercy  of  his 
employer.  He  admits  his  crookedness,  pleads  for  extension 
of  time,  and  gets  his  family  and  friends  to  intercede  for  him. 
The  magnate  relents  and  freely  forgives  him.  The  gratitude 
of  the  rehabilitated  servant  is  profound.  Act  two :  Trans- 
formation.— The  suppliant  becomes  the  throttler.  The  humble 
petitioner  is  transformed  into  the  relentless  creditor.  Before 
the  week  is  out  he  demands  the  payment  of  an  hundred 
pence,  say  one  hundred  dollars,  from  his  clerk.  He  himself 
has  been  forgiven  a  debt  of  a  million  dollars,  and  he  exacts 
the  payment  of  one  hundred  from  his  fellow  servant.  The 
poor  fellow  pleads  for  mercy.  In  extenuation  he  urges  that 
his  wages  are  but  ten  dollars  a  week,  and  he  has  appropriated 
only  one  hundred  in  the  course  of  the  year.  He  admits  his 
guilt,  but  offers  in  excuse  that  at  home  there  is  an  invalid 
widowed  mother.  There  was  an  impending  eviction  of  the 
family,  now  happily  averted.  On  his  shoulders  falls  the 
care  of  younger  brothers  and  sisters,  who  would  starve  if 
they  depended  solely  upon  his  meagre  allowance.     But  his 

248 


WORK  IN  THE  MINISTRY. 

pleadings  are  in  vain.  He  is  summarily  ejected  and  given 
over  to  the  officers  of  the  law.  Act  three.  The  tables  are 
turned.  The  master  treats  the  heard-hearted  wretch  as  he 
treated  his  clerk,  and  exacts  the  full  penalty.  Here  the 
preacher  proceeded  rapidly  to  an  enlargement  of  his  theme 
and  spoke  on  Christian  forgiveness.  Christ,  he  held  up  as 
the  model  who  taught  the  lesson  of  forgiveness  by  word  and 
example  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave.  "  By  this  shall  all 
men  know  that  you  are  my  disciples,  if  you  have  love  one 
for  another."  This  is  the  victory  over  the  pagan  world.  As 
was  said  in  the  early  days  of  Christianity,  "  See  how  the 
Christians  love  one  another."  Christ  taught  the  lesson  of  for- 
giveness from  the  cross.  Then  he  instanced  St.  Stephen  pray- 
ing for  his  murderers,  Blessed  Fisher  and  St.  Thomas  More, 
St.  Jane  Frances  de  Chantal,  St.  Monica  condoning  the  faults 
of  husband  and  son,  in  contrast  with  the  conduct  of  fathers 
and  mothers  generally.  He  alluded  to  a  case  that  had  come 
under  his  notice,  of  a  father  who  had  disinherited  his  son 
for  some  boyish  escapade.  On  his  death-bed  his  heart  was 
still  hardened.  He  would  not  forgive  even  his  own  flesh  and 
blood,  and  unforgiving  he  went  before  the  awful  judgment 
seat.  The  measure  of  our  forgiveness  will  be  the  measure 
of  God's  mercy.  "  As  we  forgive  those  who  trespass 
against  us."  The  trifling  offence  of  our  fellow  man  he  set 
over  against  the  infinite  offence  of  sin,  infinite  in  its  effects, 
for  it  entails  the  loss  of  heaven.  God  forgives,  gives  pre- 
venting grace,  that  is,  He  is  the  first  to  make  the  advance. 
He  goes  to  meet  the  sinner,  grants  pardon  for  the  asking, 
and  forgets  the  offence;  considers  repentance  a  personal 
favor,  a  cause  of  congratulation.  "  There  shall  be  joy  in 
heaven."  He  concluded  with  an  appeal  for  self-examina- 
tion and  forgiveness  if  we  hope  to  be  forgiven. 

249 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

This  is  only  a  brief  outline  of  the  sermon,  but  it  will 
serve  to  show  how  very  original  in  conception,  how  prac- 
tical and  direct  were  his  discourses  to  the  people.  Though 
he  always  gave  careful  preparation  to  his  sermons  and  ad- 
dresses, he  never  wrote  them  out  in  full.  One  reason  for 
this  was  that  he  could  never  trust  his  memory  to  retain  a 
carefully  conned  and  polished  composition.  His  voice  was 
somewhat  against  him,  but,  with  his  earnestness  and  fervor 
of  delivery,  his  wealth  of  thought  and  illustration,  he  always 
made  a  deep  impression  upon  his  hearers. 

There  is  an  enormous  amount  of  written  matter  left 
among  his  notes;  skeleton  sermons  for  every  Sunday  in 
the  year — sometimes  half  a  dozen  for  the  same  Sunday — 
sketches  of  discourses  for  festivals,  for  special  occasions, 
for  the  different  societies  with  which  he  was  connected, 
all  of  them  attesting  his  unflagging  zeal  and  the  high  idea 
he  entertained  of  the  work  of  a  priest  in  the  pulpit  and  on 
the  platform. 

The  Spiritual  Exercises  of  St.  Ignatius  he  made  a  pro- 
found and  life-long  study.  He  had  for  his  use  a  printed 
copy  of  one  of  Father  Roothan's  editions,  over  two  hundred 
and  fifty  pages,  octavo,  which  is  literally  covered  with  anno- 
tations and  suggestions,  written  so  closely  between  the  lines 
and  on  the  margins  as  to  be  almost  undecipherable.  Besides 
this  annotated  copy  of  the  Book  of  the  Exercises,  there  are 
drafts  by  the  score  of  meditations  and  instructions  for 
triduums  and  retreats,  adapted  to  various  classes  of  men 
and  women,  proof  of  the  elaborate  care  he  bestowed  upon 
this  important  branch  of  a  Jesuit  priest's  work.  Over  and 
above  the  ordinary  retreats  to  religious  communities  and 
the  laity  which  fall  to  the  lot  of  every  Jesuit,  Father  Van 
Rensselaer  was  called  upon  to  give  an  occasional  one  to  the 

250 


WORK  IN  THE  MINISTRY. 

clergy.  These  retreats,  by  reason  of  the  far-reaching  good 
resulting  therefrom,  are  without  doubt  the  most  important 
charge  which  can  be  entrusted  to  a  priest.  That  he  con- 
ducted them  successfully,  is  the  testimony  of  those  who  made 
them  under  his  direction,  and  is  borne  out  by  the  following 
tribute  from  a  diocesan  newspaper.  It  is  headed  "  A  Knick- 
erbocker Jesuit." 

"  The  priests  of  the  diocese  are  very  grateful  to  the  dis- 
tinguished Jesuit  Father,  the  Rev.  Henry  Van  Rensselaer, 
for  the  delightful  way  in  which  he  conducted  the  spiritual 
exercises  of  their  retreat  last  week. 

"It  is  true,  of  course,  that,  humanly  speaking,  the  fruit 
of  a  spiritual  retreat  must  always  depend  on  oneself.  Yet, 
the  personality  of  him  who  conducts  the  exercises,  and  the 
vigor  and  freshness  with  which  he  puts  things,  has  not  a 
little  to  do  with  the  success  of  a  retreat. 

"  These  Father  Van  Rensselaer  possesses  in  a  striking 
degree.  To  begin  with,  he  is  a  man  of  knightly  presence, 
without  fear,  without  reproach,  who  speaks  as  God's  am- 
bassador. One  easily  perceives,  too,  that  he  is  endowed 
with  a  noble  soul,  who  despises  everything  low  or  mean.  He 
is,  moreover,  a  gentleman  of  distinguished  family,  reared 
in  luxury,  with  large  patrimony,  and  on  whose  future  the 
radiant  sky  sweetly  smiled.  Brought  up  an  alien  to  the 
Church,  his  eyes,  like  Paul's,  were  mercifully  opened  to  the 
light  of  faith;  and  further  favored  by  a  divine  call  to  a  life 
of  perfection,  he  left  all  the  glittering  world  had  in  store  for 
him  to  follow  the  Master. 

"  Trained  in  the  military  school  of  Loyola,  this  scion  of 
New  York's  Four  Hundred  is  a  soldier  of  the  Cross.  To 
pierce  the  sinful  hearts  of  men  with  the  power  and  mystery 

251 


LIFE   OF   HENRY    VAN    RENSSELAER 

of  the  Cross  is  his  one  grand  passion.  He  has,  moreover, 
the  art  of  putting  things  with  striking  force.  And  as  one 
gazes  on  his  handsome  face,  and  listens  to  the  music  of  his 
voice — enhanced  by  the  unmistakable  New  York  accent — 
the  old  truths  have  a  new  meaning  and  fascinate  the  heart 
as  never  before. 

"  This  is  God's  way  of  using  human  gifts  and  advantages 
for  His  greater  honor  and  glory  and  the  salvation  of  souls." 

In  1896,  Father  Van  Rensselaer  was  invited  to  preach  at 
St.  Mary's  Cathedral,  Ogdensburg.  which  may  be  regarded 
as  his  native  city,  Woodford,  the  family  estate,  being  only 
half  a  mile  to  the  west.  The  local  press  treated  his  coming 
as  an  event  of  unusual  interest.  One  daily  paper  devoted 
two  columns  to  a  description  of  Woodford,  with  a  picture 
in  half-tone  of  the  old  Van  Rensselaer  residence,  "  from 
the  porch  of  which,  with  its  massive  Corinthian  columns, 
one  looked  through  vistas  of  the  intercepting  foliage,  across 
broad  meadows  to  the  majestic  flow  of  the  St.  Lawrence.'" 
In  this  account  there  is  a  brief  reference  to  Henry  Van 
Rensselaer,  Inspector  General  of  the  Army,  and  former 
owner  of  Woodford,  another  to  the  visit  of  his  eldest  son 
Stephen,  also  a  soldier,  who  won  his  spurs  at  Gettysburg, 
and  then  the  article  concludes :  "  Some  decades  of  years 
passed,  and  a  new  generation  had  almost  forgotten  the  as- 
sociations with  Woodford,  when  the  youngest  living  son 
and  namesake  of  its  former  owner,  came  among  his  towns- 
people. He,  too,  had  enlisted,  but  for  spiritual  warfare 
under  the  leadership  of  the  great  Captain,  St.  Ignatius 
Loyola,  in  the  Company  of  Jesus,  and  his  mission  is  the 
peaceful  one  of  winning  souls  to  Christ." 

The  sermon  at  Ogdensburg  was  largely  an  account  of  his 

252 


CHURCH    OF   ST.    FRANCIS   XAVIER, 
NEW   YORK   CITY 


WORK  IN   THE  MINISTRY. 

conversion  to  the  Church  and,  indirectly,  of  the  development 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  America  from  the 
time  of  the  American  Revolution.  The  portion  of  the 
sermon  which  gave  the  story  of  the  development  of  the 
American  Episcopal  Church  was  substantially  the  same  as 
the  introduction  he  wrote  to  his  autobiography  and  is  as 
follows : — 

"  I  was  born  of  very  religious  parents  of  the  strong 
Protestant  type.  My  father  was  of  Dutch  Reformed  origin, 
while  my  mother  was  a  Protestant  Episcopalian.  Fifty 
years  ago  the  distinction  between  those  sects  was  compara- 
tively unimportant.  They  were  all  Protestants  and  were 
proud  of  it.  The  good  old  dominies  of  those  days  would 
scarcely  recognize  the  transformed  sects  of  to-day.  The 
name  Catholic  was  a  by- word.  The  term  priest  was  not  yet 
usurped  by  ministers,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  who  were 
eyed  askance  as  dangerous  characters,  secret  allies  of  the 
Scarlet  Woman  and  in  her  pay.  The  evolution  of  the  Epis- 
copal Church  into  a  so-called  branch  of  the  Catholic  Church 
is  interesting. 

"  Originally  an  off-shoot  of  the  Established  Protestant 
Church  of  England,  this  American  branch  was  cut  off  by 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  had  to  assume  a  new 
corporate  existence  and  title.  The  staunch  Protestants  of 
those  days  were  proud  of  their  Protestantism  and  asserted 
it  in  their  new  name.  But  they  had  bishops,  so-called,  and 
therefore  they  were  Episcopalians.  So  their  sect  was  thence- 
forth to  be  known  as  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
a  name  which  suited  it  admirably.  They  were  on  friendly 
terms  with  other  Protestant  denominations,  and  their 
Protestantism  connoted  the  supposed  errors  of  Rome. 

253 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

"  The  Oxford  movement,  strong  in  England,  had  only 
a  comparatively  slight  effect  in  the  United  States.  But 
the  example  of  Newman  and  the  galaxy  of  great  men  who 
followed  him  to  Rome  could  not  fail  to  make  an  impression 
on  some  of  the  earnest-minded  ministers  of  the  day.  The 
vivifying  breath  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  about  to  infuse  life 
into  the  dry  bones  of  Protestantism.  The  true  concept  of  a 
living  Church,  with  power  to  teach  the  truth,  was  dawning. 
The  vision  of  the  eternal  priesthood  according  to  the  order 
of  Melchisedech,  with  its  visible  representatives  offering 
sacrifice,  rose  up  before  them  and  fascinated  them.  The 
five  sacraments  that  had  been  discarded  so  contemptuously 
by  the  prime  movers  of  the  great  revolt  against  the  Church, 
seemed  in  the  new  light  no  longer  '  old  women's  fables 
or  corrupt  following  of  the  Apostles/  but  channels  of  divine 
grace  instituted  by  Christ  Himself.  The  glonous  Commu- 
nion of  Saints  appeared,  as  it  is  in  very  truth,  the  realiza- 
tion of  the  close  relations  that  exist  between  the  members 
of  the  Church  militant  on  earth  and  of  the  Church  tri- 
umphant in  heaven.  It  was  no  longer  an  empty  expression 
in  the  creed,  repeated  thousands  of  times  without  even  an 
inkling  of  its  meaning.  It  was,  indeed,  the  ever-presence 
of  the  '  cloud  of  witnesses  and  the  spirits  of  the  just  made 
perfect.'  The  great  fact  of  the  Incarnation  stood  out  in 
its  magnificent  proportions,  and  in  consequence  the  essential 
part  played  by  the  Virgin  Mother  forced  itself  on  the  ac- 
ceptance of  all  honest  minds.  Even  the  unique  privilege 
of  St.  Peter  as  the  Rock  upon  which  Christ  built  His 
Church,  as  the  receiver  from  Him  of  the  Keys  of  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven,  as  the  feeder  of  His  sheep  and  lambs,  His 
own  representative  as  the  Good  Shepherd  of  the  flock, 
seemed  less  impossible  of  belief. 

254 


WORK  IN  THE  MINISTRY. 

"  Such  a  growth  in  the  acceptance  of  Catholic  doctrines 
was  gradual  and  met  with  many  obstacles.  The  prejudices 
of  over  three  centuries  died  hard,  if  they  died  at  all.  The 
journey  to  the  true  Jerusalem,  the  City  of  God  on  earth, 
was  up-hill  and  laborious.  It  demanded  courage  and 
perseverance.  In  many  cases  it  was  a  bloodless  martyr- 
dom. 

"  Perhaps  the  most  striking  way  to  show  this  growth  is 
to  follow  the  evolution  of  the  eucharistic  service,  for  this 
was  the  axis  on  which  the  movement  turned.  In  good  old- 
fashioned  Episcopal  churches  there  was  a  chancel  and  in 
the  chancel  a  communion  table — a  veritable  table  with  four 
legs,  and  when  in  use,  once  a  month,  it  was  covered  with  a 
regulation  linen  table-cloth.  Being  a  table  for  the  Lord's 
Supper,  as  it  was  then  commonly  called,  there  was  ordi- 
narily nothing  on  it.  Then  an  ornamental  cover  was  placed 
over  it,  and  this  became  later  a  frontal.  The  empty  space 
between  the  legs  was  filled  in,  and  it  took  on  the  semblance 
of  an  altar.  Next  a  shelf  made  its  appearance  at  the  back 
of  the  table.  On  the  shelf  a  cross  of  flowers  was  intro- 
duced on  a  feast-day — Christmas  or  Easter.  The  flowers 
withered  and  were  removed,  but  the  wooden  cross  remained. 
Next,  two  candlesticks  with  candles,  for  light  in  the  early 
morning  only,  flanked  the  cross.  As  it  was  no  longer  a  re- 
ceptacle for  flowers,  two  vases  were  substituted.  By  this 
time  the  old-fashioned  Communion  table  had  blossomed 
into  a  simple  type  of  altar.  The  large  flagon  of  wine,  the 
capacious  cup,  and  the  plate  of  bread  were  no  more  visible 
on  the  table.  A  credence,  or  side,  table  was  provided.  The 
elements,  as  they  were  called,  were  covered  with  a  veil,  and 
the  bread  was  in  the  form  of  wafers.  The  ministers,  and 
they  were  not  ashamed  of  the  name,  of  old  stood  at  either 

255 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

end  of  the  table,  so  that  the  congregation  could  witness  all 
their  actions.  This  was  technically  termed  the  northward 
position,  although  north  and  south  would  have  been  more 
correct.  But  the  eastward  position  (the  altar  end  of  the 
church  theoretically  was  supposed  to  face  east)  became 
prevalent,  and  the  minister  stood  with  his  back  to  the  people, 
giving  him  a  chance  for  various  ritualistic  practices 
which  he  interpolated  unknown  to  the  congregation. 
But  the  dress  of  the  embryo-priest  had  to  keep  pace  with  the 
development  of  the  altar.  First  he  donned  a  cassock  reach- 
ing to  his  feet,  with  a  moderately  long  surplice.  The  broad 
black  scarf,  worn  on  all  occasions,  gave  way  on  great  feasts 
to  a  white  one.  This  done  and  accepted,  the  other  colors 
were  soon  adopted.  But  the  surplice  was  not  an  eucharistic 
vestment.  A  sort  of  combination  chasuble  and  surplice 
served  as  a  go-between,  until  the  regular  chasuble  was  no 
longer  an  object  of  suspicion.  For  a  while  the  material  was 
linen,  sometimes  handsomely  embroidered  ;  silk  soon  replaced 
the  linen,  and  a  set  of  silk  vestments  of  all  the  liturgical 
colors  became  a  part  of  every  ritualistic  establishment.  The 
evolution  was  well  nigh  complete;  the  chancel  had  become 
the  sanctuary ;  the  table,  the  altar,  and  all  its  appurtenances 
were  there.  The  cross  had  received  its  figure  and  was  a 
crucifix.  The  step  on  which  it  had  stood  had  grown  tall  and 
evolved  into  a  tabernacle.  Candles  blazed  on  the  altar  even 
in  broad  daylight.  Not  one  sanctuary  lamp  burned  before 
the  altar,  but  seven,  as  being  more  scriptural.  The  Commu- 
nion service,  or  the  Lord's  Supper,  by  dint  of  omissions 
and  additions,  might  pass  for  the  Mass,  and  was  with  great 
ostentation  announced  as  such.  True,  the  language  was 
English,  but  it  was  so  mumbled  that  it  could  be  mistaken  for 
Latin,  or  some  unknown  tongue.    Stations  of  the  cross  were 

256 


WORK  IN  THE  MINISTRY. 

erected;  statues  of  the  saints  graced  the  sanctuary  or  side 
altars;  confessionals  were  provided,  and  holy  water  stoups 
enhanced  the  semblance  of  Catholicity. 

"  With  all  this  external  growth,  doctrinal  teaching  had 
been  in  the  lead.  The  '  faithful '  were  forbidden  to  call  them- 
selves Protestants  and  were  Catholics  or  Anglo-Catholics; 
whereas  Catholics  must  be  contemptuously  called  Romanists, 
for,  according  to  the  new  Gospel,  Romanists  were  only  a 
sect,  originating  in  Italy,  while  the  Anglican  Church  was  the 
Church,  pure  and  undefiled,  conformable  to  primitive  Chris- 
tianity. 

"  Of  course  the  ritualists  proper  were,  and  still  are,  a 
very  small  minority  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 
But  they  had  a  certain  influence  in  leavening  the  Protestant 
lump,  and  in  raising  portions  of  it  in  doctrines  and  practices. 
But  by  far  the  more  influential  party  is  that  known  as  the 
Broad  Church,  which,  in  reality,  is  so  rationalistic  that  it 
rejects  such  fundamental  truths  as  the  Divinity  of  Christ, 
and  consequently  the  Trinity,  and  perforce  the  two  com- 
monly accepted  sacraments  as  real  means  of  grace,  and  de- 
nies the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures.  The  Low  Church 
party  contains  the  old  conservative  Protestants,  and  might 
be  characterized  as  Evangelical  or  Bible  Christians,  respect- 
able, but  unreasoning.  Then  come  the  High  Churchmen, 
holding  various  attitudes  of  belief,  the  greater  part  being 
High  and  Dry,  and  so  considered  very  safe,  with  no  danger 
of  reaching  the  height  whence  a  fall  Romeward  would  be 
likely." 

The  Ogdensburg  Courier,  in  its  resume  of  the  discourse, 
states  that  "  the  speaker  made  an  elaborate  argument  in  sup- 
port of  his  present  religious  belief,  and  closed  the  lecture, 
saying:  *  I  thank  God  I  am  what  I  am.'  " 

257 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

In  November,  1897,  the  venerable  Clarence  Walworth 
celebrated  the  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  laying  of  the 
corner-stone  of  the  first  St.  Mary's  Church,  Albany,  N.  Y., 
of  which  he  had  been  pastor  for  over  thirty  years.  Father 
Van  Rensselaer  was  an  old-time  friend,  and  the  family 
affiliations  with  the  early  history  of  Albany  suggested  him 
as  one  of  the  speakers  for  the  celebration.  The  occasion 
was  inspiring.  Albany,  the  old  Fort  Orange,  was  once  the 
home  of  the  patroons  and  for  generations  the  centre  of  their 
influence  throughout  the  State.  In  the  history  of  the  trading 
post,  and  its  development  into  the  capital  of  the  Empire 
State,  the  Van  Rensselaer  family  had  played  a  conspicuous 
part.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Jesuit  Mission  sites  were  not 
far  away,  and  if  we  include  the  land  bordering  on  the  St. 
Lawrence  as  far  as  Ogdensburg,  they  were  actually  situ- 
ated in  Van  Rensselaer  property.  The  first  of  the  Mohawk 
Castles,  the  historic  Auriesville,  where  Jogues,  and  Bressani, 
and  their  fellows  toiled  and  suffered  for  the  faith,  was  only 
forty  miles  distant.  There  was  a  fitness,  then,  in  the  selection 
of  Father  Van  Rensselaer,  a  descendant  of  the  old  patroons, 
and  a  brother  in  religion  of  those  heroic  missionaries,  to  tell 
the  story  of  the  Church's  growth  in  a  land  endeared  to  him 
by  so  many  ties.  There  is  no  record  preserved  of  the  dis- 
course delivered  on  that  occasion,  though  he  doubtless  made 
it  the  object  of  special  preparation.  In  a  chronicle  of  the 
event  it  is  referred  to  as  an  eloquent  sermon  on  the  text, 
"  This  is  none  other  than  the  house  of  God ;  this  is  the  gate 
of  Heaven." 

In  the  "  Life  Sketches  of  Father  Walworth,"  published 
in  1907,  there  is  a  pen  picture  of  the  preacher  as  he  appeared 
in  the  pulpit  of  historic  St.  Mary's : — 

"  Tall  and  dark  amid  the  resplendent  glory  of  the  cere- 

258 


WORK  IN  THE  MINISTRY. 

mony,  stood  the  Jesuit  in  dear  old  St.  Mary's  oaken  pulpit. 
He  stood  there  in  the  heyday  of  manly  beauty,  a  lineal  de- 
scendant of  the  first  Albany  patroon,  and  all  the  while  a 
crucifix  glimmered  at  his  girdle.  He  was  every  inch  a 
black-gown,  a  devoted  missionary,  a  devoted  son  of  Loyola, 
and  so,  too,  was  the  one  of  whom  he  spoke,  Isaac  Jogues, 
discoverer  of  Lake  George,  a  friend  of  Megapolensis  at 
Fort  Orange,  and  martyr  of  the  Mohawk  Mission.  The 
vigor  and  graces  of  a  noble  orator  were  his,  and  who  could 
say  that  Father  Van  Rensselaer  was  not  the  right  man  in 
the  right  place  for  that  occasion  ?  " 


259 


CHAPTER  XV. 
Tertianship  and  Messenger  of  the  Sacred  Heart. 

UPON  the  completion  of  his  studies,  every  Jesuit  is  sent 
back  to  the  novitiate  to  spend  a  year  in  the  humble  em- 
ployments and  spiritual  duties  which  helped  to  lay  the  foun- 
dation of  his  religious  life.  This  year  is  usually  called  the 
third  year  of  probation,  or,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  noviti- 
ate, the  tertianship.  In  Father  Van  Rensselaer's  case,  how- 
ever, it  was  only  after  some  years  of  the  ministry  that  he  was 
sent  to  Frederick,  Md.,  to  complete  his  spiritual  training, 
and  it  was  while  there  that  he  wrote  the  following  interest- 
ing letter  to  his  mother  : 

"  Novitiate, 

"  Frederick  City,  Md., 

"  September  20,  1893. 
"  My  Dearest  Mother  : 

"  I  suppose  you  are  anxious  to  know  how  I  am  settled 
in  my  new  quarters.  There  could  not  be  a  greater  contrast 
than  between  New  York  and  Frederick.  The  latter  is  the 
dullest  little  town  possible.  No  hustle,  but  withal  noisy, 
as  everybody  speaks  out  loud  in  the  street,  to  the  great  an- 
noyance of  those  inside  the  house.  The  inevitable  small  boy 
makes  it  lively,  too.  Moreover,  it  is  enlivened  by  church 
bells.  There  is  quite  a  rivalry.  We,  however,  always  have 
the  lead,  as  we  begin  at  5  a.  m.,  but  the  others  make  up  for 
it  later  on.     I  do  not  think  that  I  have  sat  as  much  in  four 

260 


TERTIANSHIP. 


years  as  I  have  the  last  eighteen  days  since  I  have  been  here. 
In  fact  the  last  thirteen  years  seem  like  a  dream,  for  I  have 
gone  back  again  to  my  novice  days.  This  illusion  is  kept 
up  in  a  way  by  having  many  of  my  early  friends  in  religion 
here  with  me,  so  we  feel  very  much  at  home.  The  Rector  is 
an  old  friend  of  mine,  formerly  a  fellow-student  at  Wood- 
stock. 

"  The  neighborhood  is  beautiful.  Frederick  Valley  is 
very  fertile,  and  the  mountains  that  shut  it  in  make  a  fine 
background  on  every  side.  The  town  is  more  like  an  old 
European  one  than  its  sister  Americans.  There  is  little  or 
no  progress.  The  people  are  comfortable ;  in  fact  Frederick 
is  said  to  be  the  richest  town  of  its  population  in  the  country 
—9000  inhabitants  and  eleven  banks  with  $3,000,000  de- 
posits. The  people,  descendants  of  the  hireling  Hessians, 
are  not  very  attractive,  but  of  a  hard,  repulsive  type.  I  like 
the  darkies,  who  abound  and  have  good  manners.  A  good 
many  battles  were  fought  in  the  vicinity,  and  the  graveyard 
has  a  long  row  of  headstones  of  soldiers.  Our  house  was 
used  as  a  hospital.     But  enough  of  the  place. 

"  We  begin  our  thirty  days'  retreat  next  Thursday,  and  it 
will  be  over  on  the  30th  of  October.  Fortunately  we  have 
a  very  interesting  Father  to  give  it,  Father  Villiger,  who 
has  just  returned  from  a  visit  to  the  Holy  Land,  so  that  his 
descriptions  of  the  sacred  places  will  be  graphic  and  au- 
thentic. As  a  great  deal  of  the  time  will  be  spent  in  medi- 
tating upon  the  life  of  Our  Lord,  it  will  make  the  scenes 
more  real.     Take  good  care  of  yourself. 

"  Ever  your  devoted  son, 

"  Henry  Van  Rensselaer,  S.J. 
261 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

After  his  tertianship  Father  Van  Rensselaer  was  sent  to 
Philadelphia  as  one  of  the  Assistant  Directors  of  the  Apos- 
tleship  of  Prayer.  The  assignment  was  the  very  reverse  of 
acceptable  to  him,  for  he  had  been  always  hoping  to  be  em- 
ployed exclusively  in  the  external  work  of  the  ministry.  But, 
like  a  submissive  religious,  he  swallowed  his  disappointment, 
and  set  himself  to  what  was  to  him  a  very  irksome  task,  that 
of  revising  manuals,  reviewing  little  books  of  devotion,  devis- 
ing decorations  for  banners  or  badges,  with  occasional 
preaching  in  parishes  where  the  League  of  the  Sacred  Heart 
had  to  be  organized  or  needed  reviving.  His  very  fine 
literary  taste,  however,  which  he  had  never  ceased  to  exer- 
cise, was  of  great  service  in  whatever  writing  was  assigned 
to  him,  and  not  a  few  contributions  appear  over  his  signa- 
ture in  the  volumes  of  the  Messenger  of  the  Sacred  Heart 
between  the  years  1894  and  1898. 

He  had  a  happy  knack  of  verse-making,  a  result  of  long 
practice,  and  he  frequently  pressed  it  into  service  in  explain- 
ing the  various  devotions  and  practices  of  the  League.  It 
will  be  sufficient  to  cite  one  which  has  found  its  way  into 
the  League  Manual.     It  is  entitled : — 


The  Promoter's  Cross. 

Tis  the  King's  own  sacred  sign 

Setting  us  apart 
For  a  mission  all  divine, 

Of  His  Sacred  Heart. 
Let  our  Cross  our  ensign  be, 
Leading  us  to  victory. 

262 


TERTIANSHIP. 

Not  the  metal  value  we, 

Though   'twere  precious  gold; 

Its  indulgenced  dowry 
Has  a  wealth  untold. 

Let  our  Cross  our  ensign  be, 

Leading  us  to  victory. 

Whose  the  image  'graved  on  it  ? 

Jesus'  Heart  aflame. 
Whose  the  superscription  writ? 

Jesus'  Holy  name. 
Let  our  Cross  our  ensign  be, 
Leading  us  to  victory. 

Let  our  Cross  be  full  in  view, 

Proud  that  men  should  know 
We  are  to  our  mission  true 

Whereso'er  we  go. 
So  our  Cross  our  ensign  be, 
Leading  us  to  victory. 

There  are  others  on  the  League  motto :  "  Thy  Kingdom 
Come";  the  "  Quid  Retribuam?"  etc. 

When  the  Central  Bureau  of  the  Apostleship  of  Prayer 
was  transferred  to  New  York  in  September,  1894,  Father 
Van  Rensselaer  found  himself  face  to  face  with  the  Men's 
Clubs  and  Associations  with  which  his  whole  life  was  to  be 
subsequently  identified.  His  occupations  in  the  Apostleship, 
however,  prevented  him  from  having  anything  to  do  with 
their  direction  and  organization;  but  at  last,  after  repeated 
solicitations  with  superiors,  his  connection  with  the  Apostle- 
ship and  the  Messenger  of  the  Sacred  Heart  came  to  an  end. 

263 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
Xavier  Club  and  Kindred  Bodies 

EVERY  St.  Patrick's  Day,  for  some  years  past,  the 
crowds  that  lined  Fifth  Avenue  in  New  York,  were 
treated  to  a  surprise,  and  the  surprise  came  regularly. 
Mounted  on  a  spirited  horse,  which  he  managed  superbly  no 
matter  how  it  capered,  sat  smiling  and  serene,  a  black- 
coated,  Roman-collared  Chaplain,  who  was  clearly  a  popular 
favorite.  He  was,  as  every  one  saw,  not  a  Celt,  and  yet 
there  he  was  at  the  head  of  the  Second  Division  of  the 
Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians.  It  was  "  Father  Van,"  and 
his  appearance  was  a  signal  for  applause  and  clapping  of 
hands,  waving  of  hats  and  flags  and  handkerchiefs.  What 
right  had  he  to  be  there?  Not  much  in  the  way  of  a  racial 
claim,  it  is  true,  though  there  were  Pattersons  in  his  family, 
and  they  were  Irish,  and  that,  besides  his  own  personality, 
was  enough  to  give  him  a  passport  to  his  rather  anomalous 
position  as  Chaplain  of  the  A.  O.  H.,  and  to  be  one  of  the 
notable  figures  in  the  St.  Patrick's  Day  parade. 

Of  course  it  was  by  some  commented  upon,  criticised, 
and  condemned.  Was  it  not  mere  posturing  and  pretense, 
and  a  bid  for  notice  and  popularity  ?  His  friends  often  told 
him  that  such  things  were  being  said  of  him,  and  those  who 
were  not  friendly  let  him  know  of  it  sometimes  in  unkindly 
ways*  But  Father  Van  Rensselaer  was  singularly  impervi- 
ous to  uncharitable  remarks,  or  even  to  harsh  disapproval  or 
denunciation,  when  the  censors  were  self-appointed,  if  he 
knew  he  was  right.  He  would  smile  at  them  gently,  perhaps 

264 


XAVIER   CLUB  AND    KINDRED    BODIES. 

his  lip  would  threaten  to  curl  a  bit,  but  usually  he  would  not 
reply. 

He  knew  that  his  Hibernians  not  only  believed  in  him, 
but  were  fond  of  him,  so  he  kept  right  on  his  course. 

We  find  an  expression  of  this  esteem  in  a  notice  taken 
from  a  local  Irish  paper  on  the  occasion  of  his  funeral,  and 
which,  therefore,  cannot  be  suspected  of  flattery.  It  is  per- 
fervid  at  times  as  becomes  the  Celt,  but  it  is  all  the  better 
for  that. 

"  Father  Van  Rensselaer  was  a  remarkable  figure,  which 
once  seen  would  not  easily  be  forgotten.  Standing  over  six 
feet,  handsome  and  broad-shouldered,  he  was  distinguished 
looking  in  any  gathering.  He  was  descended  from  one  of 
the  oldest  of  the  Knickerbocker  families  of  the  Empire 
State,  yet  he  had  a  strain  of  Irish  blood  of  which  he  was 
justly  proud.  He  became  converted  to  the  Catholic  faith 
and  joined  the  Society  of  Jesus  many  years  ago,  and  dur- 
ing all  the  time  of  his  ministry  he  never  wearied  of  doing 
the  Master's  work — assisting  the  needy,  lifting  up  the  fallen, 
consoling  the  afflicted  and  admonishing  the  wrongdoers. 
Those  who  were  in  sorrow  or  distress  never  sought  his  help 
in  vain,  and  many  a  man  to-day  prosperous  and  happy  owes 
his  present  condition  to  the  kindly  sympathy  and  assistance 
received  from  this  truly  humble  follower  of  Him  who  hath 
commanded :  *  Do  unto  others  as  you  would  that  they 
should  do  unto  you/ 

"  For  many  years  he  was  an  active  member  of  the  An- 
cient Order  of  Hibernians,  and  always  took  a  deep  interest 
in  the  welfare  of  the  Order.  As  Chaplain  of  Division  No. 
2  of  New  York,  he  was  unceasing  in  his  efforts  to  increase 
the  membership,  and  it  was  his  greatest  delight  to  say  that 

265 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  VAN   RENSSELAER 

it  was  the  largest  and  most  prosperous  Division  in  New 
York  County.  Although  connected  with  many  organiza- 
tions, he  loved  the  Hibernians  best  of  all,  and  never  missed 
an  opportunity  of  praising  the  Irish  character.  While  he 
had  many  a  kind  word  or  excuse  for  any  little  failing  we 
might  possess,  he  was  always  happy  to  be  with  the  boys, 
and  on  last  St.  Patrick's  Day,  mounted  on  a  handsome  horse, 
he  rode  up  Fifth  avenue  at  the  head  of  Division  2,  the 
proudest  man  in  that  great  parade,  and  the  only  chaplain 
who  braved  the  fatigue  of  that  long  ride,  to  show  by  h!s 
example  that  we  should  not  be  ashamed  nor  afraid  to  turn 
out  on  the  17th  of  March  to  do  honor  to  the  memory  of 
Ireland's  Patron  Saint. 

"  And  never  was  such  an  ovation  accorded  to  any  man 
as  came  from  the  hundreds  of  thousands  who  thronged  that 
mighty  thoroughfare  when  the  word  was  passed  along  the 
line,  '  Here  comes  Father  Van.'  Then,  as  his  name  was 
shouted  from  lusty  throats,  the  scene  beggars  description, 
but  will  long  live  in  the  memory  of  those  who  were  present 
that  day.  The  true-hearted  sons  and  daughters  of  Erin 
were  proud  of  him,  and  he  was  with  his  own  people,  for 
he  was  more  Irish  than  the  Irish  themselves. 

"  Little  did  we,  who  marched  with  him  on  that  occasion, 
imagine  that  before  the  year  had  run  its  course  he  would  be 
called  to  receive  the  reward  of  the  just  for  having  '  fought 
the  good  fight,'  and  having  kept  the  faith ;  he  is  now  num- 
bered amongst  God's  chosen  ones.  With  him  has  passed 
away  one  of  the  grandest  characters  of  the  Catholic  priest- 
hood in  this  country.  He  was  the  embodiment  of  all  that 
was  noblest  and  best,  and  a  living  illustration  of  the  sub- 
lime maxim  of  our  grand  and  noble  order,  '  Friendship, 
Unity  and  Christian  Charity/  in  its  broadest  significance." 

266 


XAVIER   CLUB  AND   KINDRED   BODIES 

Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  appearance  that  "  Father 
Van "  ever  made  on  his  prancing  steed,  was  in  the 
memorable  Columbus  parade,  when  the  first  of  the  Catholic 
societies  swung  into  line  at  midday,  and  the  last  man  passed 
the  grandstand  at  one  o'clock  in  the  morning.  It  was  night 
when  Father  Van  Rensselaer,  at  the  head  of  the  Xavier  Club, 
his  Deaf  Mute  Societies,  and  others  which  he  had  founded  or 
was  active  in  promoting,  came  into  sight.  The  transparen- 
cies, the  torches,  the  Roman  candles,  the  paraphernalia  of  the 
various  associations  made  it  a  notable  section  of  the  proces- 
sion, while  the  shouts  and  the  cheers  that  greeted  the  leader 
gave  ample  proof  of  the  popularity  he  enjoyed.  The  men  in 
line  responded.  There  was  a  detachment  carrying  a  banner 
with  the  legend  that  they  were  the  Xavier  Deaf  Mutes. 
Behind  them,  not  separated  by  a  sufficient  interval,  were 
some  more  Xavier  marchers.  "  Look  at  the  poor  deaf  and 
dumb  boys,"  exclaimed  an  old  lady;  and  just  then  the  regu- 
lars burst  out  with  their  club  yell,  "  Hurrah !  Hurrah ! 
X-A-V-I-E-R  !  "—"Poor  things,"  she  continued,  "  its  the 
only  consolation  the  deaf  mutes  have,  to  hear  themselves 
shout  like  that." 

In  the  parade  on  that  occasion  the  Xavier  Club  had  more 
young  men  in  line  than  any  other  single  organization,  and 
the  fine  showing  made  by  them  and  their  co-religionists 
drew  forth  at  the  time,  the  following  spirited  editorial  from 
the  New  York  Sun: — 

"  The  Roman  Catholic  Parade  on  Tuesday  night  was  a 
demonstration  of  great  interest  and  significance.  It  is  not 
remarkable  that  many  thousands  of  those  devoted  to  that 
faith  were  in  the  long  line,  and  that  Fifth  avenue  was 
crowded  with  applauding  spectators,  for  the  Roman  Church 

267 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN  RENSSELAER* 

comprises  in  its  fold  the  great  majority  of  the  Christian 
believers  of  New  York.  The  impressiveness  and  the  deep 
significance  of  the  parade  came  from  the  fact  that  nearly 
all  those  who  took  part  in  it  were  young  men. 

"At  this  period  it  is  assumed  in  many  quarters  that  re- 
ligious skepticism  is  prevalent,  among  the  younger  genera- 
tion more  especially,  whether  Catholic  or  Protestant.  The 
sons  are  said  to  be  falling  away  from  the  faith  of  the  fathers, 
and  feminine  devotion  is  described  as  chiefly  active  in  keep- 
ing alive  the  flame  of  religious  belief.  The  descendants  of 
Roman  Catholic  immigrants  are  supposed  to  have  shaken 
off  their  ancient  faith  in  a  large  measure,  to  have  become 
comparatively  indifferent  to  it,  and  to  have  passed  beyond 
the  power  of  priestly  control. 

"To  some  extent,  doubtless,  this  is  true.  The  Roman 
Catholic  Church  needs  to  make  strenuous  and  persistent 
efforts  to  keep  its  hold  on  the  children  of  its  spiritual  house- 
hold who  come  hither  from  Europe.  But  that  the  diversion 
from  its  ranks  was  not  important  was  demonstrated  by  this 
remarkable  parade  of  many  thousands  of  young  men.  The 
recent  Christian  Endeavor  Convention  showed  that  among 
young  Protestants  also,  the  incursions  of  skepticism  have 
not  been  as  serious  as  they  seemed  superficially. 

"  The  circumstance  that  these  Roman  Catholic  youth  and 
young  men  came  out  in  numbers  so  vast,  proudly  proclaim- 
ing their  faith  to  the  world,  proved  the  ardor  and  intensity 
of  their  loyalty  to  the  Church.  They  glory  in  being  Roman 
Catholics  and  bearing  banners  and  wearing  insignia  which 
make  known  to  the  multitude  that  they  are  unquestioning 
in  their  religious  allegiance  and  aggressive  in  behalf  of  the 
doctrines  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  '  Church  and  Country/ 
was  the  motto  borne  aloft  by  one  of  the  societies,  and  it  is 

268 


XAVIER   CLUB  AND   KINDRED   BODIES. 

fhe  motto  of  them  all  and  their  inspiring  watchword.  First 
and  foremost  they  count  their  spiritual  citizenship;  but  that 
their  patriotic  allegiance  is  enthusiastic  also,  they  showed 
by  bearing  and  wearing  the  national  colors  as  loyal  citizens 
of  the  republic. 

"  When  young  men  are  thus  eager  to  turn  out  in  multi- 
tudes to  manifest  their  fidelity  to  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  and  their  subjection  to  its  spiritual  sway,  one  of  the 
secrets  of  its  increasing  power  in  this  country  is  revealed. 
The  parade  of  Tuesday  evening  showed  how  deep  the  faith 
of  its  followers  is,  and  how  ardent  is  their  devotion  to  it, 
though  it  makes  no  compromise  with  the  modern  spirit  of 
unbelief,  but  adheres  the  more  stoutly  and  inflexibly  to  the 
ancient  dogmas  rejected  by  the  contemporary  skepticism, 
which  denies  all  supernatural  religion  whatsoever. 

"  The  religious  sentiment  is  still  the  dominant  force  in  the 
world,  and  never  in  all  history  was  it  more  passionate  than 
to-day." 

The  Xavier  Club  was  one  of  Father  Van  Rensselaer's 
pet  enterprises.  Its  dominating  element  was  athletics.  It 
had  no  religious  obligations  connected  with  its  membership, 
and  for  that  he  was  frequently  taken  to  task,  but  in  this,  as 
in  other  matters,  the  censors  did  not  sway  him.  He  had  an 
idea  which  he  followed  persistently:  that  his  personal  in- 
fluence would  be  powerful  enough  to  induce  his  gymnasts 
and  runners  and  bowlers  to  perform  their  religious  duties, 
which,  perhaps,  they  would  balk  at  if  they  had  to  acquit 
themselves  of  their  obligations  in  company  with  others,  and 
with  a  certain  amount  of  parade.  After  all,  men  are  not 
all  made  alike,  and  what  will  suit  one  will  be  distasteful  to 
another.     But  there  is  no  doubt  that  their  zealous  Director 

269 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  VAN   RENSSELAER 

did  not  let  them  choose  their  own  gait  or  go  as  they  pleased. 
He  followed  them  persistently,  to  bring  them  back  if  they 
strayed,  or  to  keep  them  in  the  right  path  if  they  were  faith- 
ful. He  knew  as  well  as  any  one  else  that  much  may  be  said 
on  both  sides  of  the  question  of  such  clubs ;  that  they  are  not 
Church  associations,  that  they  are  detrimental  to  family  life, 
and  the  like ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  that  they  exist  by  scores 
outside  the  Church  and  in  surroundings  that  are  professedly 
antagonistic ;  wherefore  he  proposed  to  take  conditions  as  he 
found  them  and  try  to  get  what  good  might  be  obtained  by 
such  aggregations.  Men,  and  especially  young  men,  can- 
not be  prevented  from  entering  them,  and  so  he  took  them 
at  their  weak  point. 

The  Club's  quarters  were  at  first  west  of  the  church,  on 
Sixteenth  street,  but  the  building  was  demolished  to  make 
way  for  the  Greenwich  Savings  Bank.  Two  houses  oppo- 
site the  College  were  then  fitted  up,  and  finally  a  suitable 
place  on  West  Fourteenth  street  was  procured,  which  the 
Club  still  holds.  It  grew  rapidly  in  point  of  numbers,  and 
had  its  difficult  times  in  the  beginning  with  schism  and  even 
incipient  riot,  but  the  tact  of  Father  Van  Rensselaer  suc- 
ceeded in  aiding  it  to  weather  the  storms.  Its  name  figures 
extensively  and  always  at  the  top  of  the  list  in  the  great  ath- 
letic meets  of  the  country.  Possibly  in  these  days,  when  the 
Holy  Father  has  athletic  societies  show  their  prowess  in  his 
presence,  such  instrumentalities  may  receive  a  new  impetus. 

The  casual  observer  would  not  have  imagined  that  Father 
Van  Rensselaer  was  the  kind  of  a  person  that  men  of  all 
classes  would  take  to.  He  was  tall,  handsome,  refined,  well- 
built,  well  set  up;  a  most  presentable  man  in  many  ways, 
indeed,  but  there  was  nothing  of  the  hail-fellow  well-met  in 
him.    He  was  not  expansive,  hearty,  jovial,  witty,  and  he 

270 


XAVIER  CLUB  AND   KINDRED   BODIES. 

lacked  many  of  the  qualities  that  make  for  companionship 
and  sociability.  Indeed  he  was  rather  feminine  in  his  general 
ways  and  manner  of  approach,  but  he  was  undeniably  a 
favorite.  His  refusal  to  undertake  the  direction  of  women, 
his  evident  desire  to  win  men  to  the  practice  of  religion, 
and  his  unsparing  labor  in  pursuit  of  that  end  always  assured 
him  a  welcome,  and  made  success  a  foregone  conclusion. 
His  boldness  in  accosting  men  of  all  conditions  of  life,  even 
total  strangers,  wherever  and  whenever  he  met  them,  on 
the  street,  in  the  cars,  on  steamboats,  in  stores,  in  social 
gatherings,  was  at  times  startling,  and  one  would  fancy  ex- 
posed him  to  insults  and  rebuke  for  what  might  seem  his 
meddlesome  officiousness ;  but  he  does  not  seem  to  have  met 
with  any  such  rebuffs.  Perhaps  his  very  boldness  in  inquir- 
ing so  abruptly  and  so  audaciously  about  a  man's  spiritual 
condition  or  religious  belief,  took  from  the  individual 
he  addressed  the  power  of  making  what  would  have  been 
thought  the  natural  reply.  Some  one  has  said  that  it  was  not 
safe  for  a  sinner  to  be  three  minutes  in  his  company.  An 
instance  or  two  may  illustrate  this. 

On  one  occasion  he  was  assisting  at  a  mission  in  the 
parish  of  a  distinguished  and  zealous  pastor  who  was  con- 
spicuous in  the  attention  that  both  he  and  his  curates  gave  to 
their  flock.  One  morning  the  barber  came  to  the  house  for 
the  usual  exercise  of  his  skill.  Father  Van  Rensselaer  took 
his  turn  in  the  chair,  and  before  the  operation  was  finished 
he  found  that  the  man  with  the  razor  and  brush  was  a 
lapsed  Catholic  who  had  been  some  years  away  from  his 
duty.  Getting  him  to  confession  was,  of  course,  easy,  and 
to  the  astonishment  of  the  worthy  pastor,  who  tells  the  story 
himself,  the  man  who  had  been  so  close  to  him  for  so  long  a 
time,  and  whose  spiritual  condition  he  never  even  suspected, 

271 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  VAN  RENSSELAER 

was  made  suddenly,  by  an  outsider,  a  devout  member  of  the 
parish. 

Another  example  may  be  quoted  as  illustrative  of  this 
rapidity  of  apostolic  work.  Standing  at  the  grave  of  the 
father  of  one  of  his  devoted  friends,  he  said  something  or 
other  to  the  husbands  of  two  of  the  mourners,  and  discovered 
what  he  had  not  known  before,  that  they  were  not  Catholics. 
Possibly  the  earth  falling  on  the  coffin  gave  point  to  his 
words,  but  at  all  events,  there  in  the  cemetery,  before  the 
homeward  procession  left  the  gates,  the  conversion  of  the 
two  men  began,  and  to  the  delight  of  every  one  they  were 
shortly  afterwards  baptized,  and  have  ever  since  proved  ex- 
cellent Catholics.  What  gives  point  to  the  incident  is  that 
there  was  a  priest  in  the  family,  a  close  relative  of  the  twc 
men  who  were  so  expeditiously  transferred  to  the  Lord's 
household. 

It  was  this  pursuit  of  souls  that  prompted  him,  al- 
though already  connected  with  other  associations,  to  accept 
the  office  of  Chaplain  to  the  Knights  of  Columbus.  We  have 
no  means  of  knowing  much  of  his  relations  with  them, 
though  we  find  in  his  papers  sketches  of  some  of  the  dis- 
courses he  delivered  at  their  meetings  in  his  capacity  of 
spiritual  guide.  There  is,  for  instance,  a  very  elaborate 
study  of  the  great  Centre  Party  of  Germany,  that  lifted 
Catholicity  in  the  Empire  out  of  the  "  slough  of  despond," 
and  made  it  a  pillar  of  strength  for  law  and  order.  There 
is  one  on  King  David,  and  another  on  the  Crusaders,  and 
another  which  is  an  affectionate  and  minute  study  of  the 
great  Catholic  leader,  Windthorst,  and  so  on.  Such  models 
held  up  to  the  Knights  must  have  been  potent  influences  in 
helping  them  to  realize  their  ideals. 

In   the   Resolution   of  the   New   York   Chapter  of  the 

272 


XAVIER  CLUB  AND  KINDRED  BODIES. 

Knights  of  Columbus  on  the  occasion  of  his  death  they 
speak  of  him  as  "this  noble  man,  this  good,  sincere  friend, 
this  enthusiastic  worker,  this  pious  and  loving  priest  whose 
memory  we  revere."  They  express  their  "  sincere  sorrow 
for  the  death  of  this  worthy  priest  whose  sole  aim  in  life 
was  to  carry  on  the  work  of  Our  Lord  and  Saviour.  His 
life  was  an  exemplification  of  true  Christian  manhood,  and 
the  highest  type  of  membership  in  our  honored  Order." 
As  a  memorial  of  their  esteem  they  proposed  the  founding 
of  a  scholarship  under  his  name  in  St.  Francis  Xavier's 
College. 


273 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
Various  Works  of  Zeal. 

THE  motive  that  actuated  Father  Van  Rensselaer  in  es- 
tablishing the  Xavier  Club,  naturally  led  him  to  be  an 
ardent  supporter  of  the  movement  endorsed  by  the  St.  Vin- 
cent de  Paul  Society  to  form  Boys'  and  Girls'  Clubs.  Here 
again  the  old  objection  was  made:  "  Why  not  keep  these 
boys  and  girls  at  home?  "  The  answer  was,  they  were  not 
at  home,  they  were  on  the  street;  and  besides,  that  wealthy 
Protestant  churches  of  the  city  were  sweeping  them  in  by 
thousands,  amusing  them,  instructing  them,  getting  them 
situations,  and  weaning  them  from  the  Church.  Perhaps 
by  showing  an  interest  in  them  they  might  be  drawn  away 
from  proselytizing  influences,  and  ultimately  induced  to 
spend  their  evenings  at  home,  though  the  tenement  house 
conditions  of  New  York  made  that  a  difficult  proposition 
to  deal  with.  The  front  stoops  and  entries  have  their  draw- 
backs as  well  as  club  rooms,  and  so  he  gave  the  movement 
his  hearty  support.  His  first  Girls'  Club  was  placed  under 
the  direction  of  the  Religious  of  the  Sacred  Heart  and  their 
associates,  "  The  Children  of  Mary."  Nobody,  it  was  felt, 
could  object  to  the  influence  that  would  be  exerted  in  the 
walls  of  a  convent.  The  girls  were  secure  there  at  least. 
But  the  convent  was  torn  down,  and  the  Religious  removed 
to  the  Bronx,  and  Father  Van  Rensselaer  had  to  set  about 
begging  for  something  else.  He  kept  at  it  until  he  secured 
another  house  which  he  soon  put  in  perfect  order.  The 
Sisters  of  Charity  look  after  it  now. 

274 


VARIOUS   WORKS   OF  ZEAL. 

It  is  almost  like  a  contradiction  to  find  this  unwearied 
apostle  of  men  interested  in  babies.  Connected  as  he  was 
with  the  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Society,  he  knew  the  needs  of 
the  poor,  and  saw  the  advantage  of  a  Day  Nursery  where 
poor  mothers  who  had  to  go  out  to  work  could  leave  their 
little  ones  to  be  cared  for.  He  therefore  induced  some  of 
his  wealthy  acquaintances  to  pay  the  expenses  of  a  few 
trained  nurses,  and  then  he  went  around  begging  for 
house-furnishings  and  food.  One  friend  promised  a  daily 
supply  of  milk,  another  of  bread,  another  of  sugar;  and 
though  that  is  seven  years  ago,  for  the  Day  Nursery  was 
started  in  1901,  the  supplies  have  continued  uninterruptedly 
till  this  day.  A  store  of  drugs  was  also  contributed  to  be 
used  by  the  sick  poor.  The  nursery  finally  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  one  of  Father  Van 
Rensselaer's  last  works  was  to  secure  a  house  next  to  the 
convent  to  give  a  permanent  abiding  place  for  the  benevo- 
lent work. 

In  one  instance  of  which  we  have  been  told,  and  doubtless 
it  is  but  one  of  many,  the  Father  went  himself  to  take  the 
children  of  a  sick  woman  to  the  Nursery,  that  they  might 
have  the  happiness  of  going  to  the  country  with  other  little 
ones  for  a  two  weeks'  holiday.  He  carried  the  little  baby 
in  his  arms,  and  tenderly  led  the  two  others  who  could 
scarcely  walk  without  his  helping  hand.  At  the  end  of 
the  two  weeks,  he  restored  the  children  to  their  sick 
mother. 

Father  Van  Rensselaer  was  one  of  the  first  to  take  up  the 
work  of  the  Catholic  Seamen.  He  had  Promoters  of  the 
League  of  the  Sacred  Heart  on  the  different  liners  that  came 
into  port,  and  they  were  so  zealous  in  their  work  that  it  was 
not  an  unusual  thing,  when  a  vessel  was  docked,   to  find 

275 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

"  Father  Van's  "  spiritual  auxiliary,  the  Promoter,  leading  to 
St.  Francis  Xavier's  Church  as  many  as  fifty  oilers,  stokers 
and  sailors  to  go  to  confession  and  receive  Holy  Com- 
munion. This  went  on  until  the  Diocese  took  up  the  work 
and  appointed  a  permanent  Chaplain  to  look  after  the 
seamen. 

We  have  before  us  the  list  of  Promoters  which  he  care- 
fully kept,  dating  back  to  1896,  the  year  in  which  the  Sea- 
men's Reading  Room  was  established.  There  is  a  letter 
written  on  the  S.S.  Campania,  November  30,  1896,  and 
signed  by  four  seamen,  three  of  whom  are  found  on  Father 
Van  Rensselaer's  list.  They  are  thanking  Father  McCor- 
mick,  their  new  Director,  for  the  efforts  made  in  their  be- 
half, but  they  do  not  forget  their  old  friend.  It  is  worth 
giving  in  full : 

"  S.S.  Campania, 

"  November  30,  1896. 
"  Rev.  Father  McCormick  : 

"  We,  the  undersigned,  acting  on  behalf  of  the  Greasers, 
Firemen,  and  Trimmers  on  the  above  steamer,  fully  realize 
the  endeavor  made  by  the  Committee  of  the  Catholic  Read- 
ing Room  to  make  our  stay  in  New  York  as  comfortable 
as  possible,  both  spiritually  and  socially,  and  ask  you  to  con- 
vey to  them  our  sincere  thanks,  accompanied  by  the  enclosed 
amount,  being  the  result  of  a  collection,  of  nine  pounds, 
fourteen  shillings,  and  to  assure  them  of  our  love,  respect 
and  gratitude.  We  also  desire  to  thank  Rev.  Father  Van 
Rensselaer  for  the  kindness  he  has  always  shown  towards 
us.     Trusting,  Rev.  Father,  that  you  will  accept  this  as  a 

276 


VARIOUS  WORKS  OF  ZEAL. 

sincere  token  of  the  love  and  the  reverence  we  feel  towards 
yourself  and  the  Committee,  we  are,  Rev.  Father, 
"  Sincerely  yours, 

"Joseph  Harrington. 

"  John  Dixon. 

"  James  Ashe. 

"  John  Roche. 
"Signed  in  behalf  of  the  Greasers,  Firemen,  and  Trimmers." 

The  Fathers  of  St.  Francis  Xavier's  in  New  York  have 
for  many  years  carried  on  a  mission  among  the  Deaf  Mutes. 
Father  Costin,  as  early  as  1869,  had  learned  the  language 
in  the  Deaf  Mute  Institute  at  Fordham;  Father  Freeman 
succeeded  him  and  went  regularly  to  the  city  to  teach  the 
silent  brethren,  whom  he  had  contrived  to  gather  together, 
in  the  college  hall;  and  so  it  went  on  from  year  to  year, 
several  of  the  Fathers  being  able  to  converse  in  the  sign 
language.  On  any  Sunday  at  the  present  time  you  may  see 
a  group  of  sign-makers  engaged  in  active  conversation  out- 
side the  College  door  after  the  congregation  is  dismissed. 
Besides  the  union  for  strictly  apostolic  work,  various 
literary,  benevolent,  and  dramatic  associations  had  also  been 
organized  among  them.  The  dramatic  element  asserted  itself 
frequently,  and  every  year  theatrical  representations  of 
gorgeously  costumed  five-act  dramas  were  given  before 
large  audiences  which  talked  incessantly  across  the  hall  to 
people  in  the  opposite  seats  without,  however,  causing  any 
audible  disturbance.  The  acting  was,  of  course,  all  panto- 
mime, but  most  artistically  performed,  affording  continual 
pleasure  to  the  eye.  Some  one  behind  the  scenes  interpreted 
meantime  for  the  afflicted  part  of  the  audience  who  could 
hear,  but  could  not  understand. 

277 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

This  dramatic  association  and  most  of  the  others  had  for 
one  reason  or  another  been  disrupted,  and  the  deaf-mutes 
were  held  together  only  by  the  bond  of  their  religious  neces- 
sities. But  the  good  Samaritan  came  in  the  person  of  Father 
Van  Rensselaer.  He  did  not  know  a  word  of  the  sign  lan- 
guage, but  in  some  mysterious  way  he  succeeded  in  binding 
up  the  wounds  of  the  various  organizations,  set  them  on 
their  feet  again,  gave  them  the  wine  and  oil  of  his  advice, 
and  all  are  now  rejoicing  in  their  former  vigor.  The  glory 
of  this  resurrection  is  accorded  by  the  present  Director  of 
the  deaf-mutes  to  Father  Van  Rensselaer.  Indeed  the 
various  societies  themselves  convened  after  his  death  and 
framed  a  set  of  resolutions  which  they  published  in  all  the 
local  Catholic  papers. 

Such  was  the  character  of  his  work.  He  never  waited  to 
be  approached.  He  was  out  hunting  for  souls  and  always 
acting  in  obedience  to  the  command :  Compelle  intrare.  He 
was  called  long  distances  to  visit  the  sick  beds  of  the  timid 
or  obdurate,  and  it  was  a  common  thing  for  sinners  who 
were  not  sick  to  be  sent  to  him,  "  for  he  was  easy  with  men." 
One  poor  fellow  had  been  induced  by  his  friends  to  go  down 
to  see  him,  and  so  one  night  while  "  Father  Van  "  was 
seated  in  his  confessional  he  saw  the  newcomer  nervously 
going  about  studying  the  names  on  the  confessionals.  He 
was  on  the  point  of  giving  up,  not  finding  the  one  for  which 
he  was  looking.  His  spiritual  agitation  had  driven  it  out  of 
his  mind.  Father  Van  Rensselaer  came  out  to  help  him: 
"Are  you  looking  for  anybody  in  particular?  "  "I  am," 
said  the  other.  "Well,  what  is  his  name?"  "I  don't 
know ;  I've  forgotten  it.  Maybe  it  was  Kelleher  or  Kinsella, 
or  something  like  that."  As  Kelleher  and  Kinsella  were 
near  enough  to  Rensselaer,  he  had  evidently  found  his  man, 

278 


VARIOUS  WORKS   OF  ZEAL. 

or  his  man  had  found  him,  and  it  took  but  a  short  time  to 
put  the  best  robe  on  the  poor  shamefaced  prodigal. 

It  was  not,  however,  for  the  ordinary  sinner  that  he  felt 
an  attraction.  He  sought  the  most  abandoned  ones,  visited 
them  in  prisons,  and  stood  with  them  on  the  scaffold,  al- 
though his  almost  feminine  aversion  for  anything  shocking 
or  ghastly  prompted  him  to  avoid  that  kind  of  work.  He 
was  a  constant  visitor  to  the  cell  of  Carlyle  Harris  at  Sing 
Sing,  and  succeeded  in  making  him  a  Catholic  before  he 
was  executed. 

Were  a  visitor  at  the  College  of  St.  Francis  Xavier  to 
glance  at  one  of  the  parlors  on  any  Wednesday  night,  he 
would  see  it  crowded  with  men  of  all  conditions.  In  the 
midst  of  them  sat  Father  Van  Rensselaer.  He  was  pre- 
paring them  for  baptism.  He  kept  up  the  work  year  in  and 
year  out ;  new  groups  taking  the  place  of  the  old  ones.  How 
many  men  he  thus  brought  to  the  faith  we  have  no  means  of 
determining  at  the  present  moment,  but  the  persistency  with 
which  he  continued  the  exacting  labor,  even  when  suffering 
from  the  ailment  which  finally  carried  him  off,  is  worthy 
of  all  praise.  Of  course  his  work  lives  after  him,  and  this 
class  of  instruction  for  converts  is  continued  after  the 
methods  which  he  adopted. 


279 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
With  the  Fire-Laddies  and  the  "  Finest." 

IN  the  popular  mind  Father  Van  Rensselaer  is  especially 
associated  with  the  firemen  of  New  York.  He  was  never 
Chaplain,  though  he  would  have  been  delighted  to  have  en- 
joyed that  distinction,  but  he  performed  as  a  free  lance  the 
work  of  many  regular  officials.  He  pursued  the  "  smoke- 
eaters  "  continually;  in  the  street,  in  their  homes,  and  in  the 
engine  houses.  The  work  was  an  extensive  one,  for  there 
are  many  Catholics  in  the  Department ;  but  the  Protestants 
appear  to  have  always  accorded  him  a  ready  welcome.  It 
was  all  done  in  such  a  light-hearted  manner  that  the  straight- 
ening-out  of  consciences  lost  its  terrors.  The  "  boys  "  all 
liked  him  and  were  not  averse  to  playing  many  a  prank  at 
his  expense,  knowing  perfectly  well  he  would  not  take  it 
amiss.  Thus  on  one  occasion,  we  are  told,  when  Father 
Van  Rensselaer  was  climbing  the  stairs  to  catch  the  men  in 
their  beds,  the  officer  below  touched  the  electric  button  and 
the  whole  company  slid  down  the  pole  to  the  ground  floor, 
so  that  when  his  Reverence  reached  the  top  floor  he  found 
himself  solitary  and  alone.  He  enjoyed  the  joke  as  much 
as  the  perpetrators  did.  He  had  to  continue  the  hunt,  of 
course,  and  he  descended,  but  not  by  the  pole. 

One  of  the  favorites  of  the  Department  was  Chief  Gicquel, 
a  man  conspicuous  for  the  many  acts  of  heroism  performed 
in  the  discharge  of  his  duty.  Gicquel  died  and  was  buried 
from  St.  Francis  Xavier's.  Father  Van  Rensselaer  sang 
the  Mass  and  preached  at  the  funeral.     We  have  a  sketch 

280 


WITH  THE  FIRE-LADDIES. 

of  what  he  said  on  that  occasion,  and  it  appears  that  the 
Chief  had  made  a  bargain  with  him.  "  If  ever  you  hear 
that  I  am  sick  or  injured,  come  to  me  wherever  you  are." 
The  compact  was  kept,  happily  not  amid  the  ruins  of  a  fire, 
but  in  the  peaceful  surroundings  of  the  Chief's  home. 

The  men  as  well  as  the  officers  were  faithful  to  him,  and 
whenever  he  was  ill,  which  was  of  frequent  occurence  to- 
wards the  end  of  his  life,  it  was  a  common  and  almost  ex- 
pected thing  to  see  the  fire-laddies  making  their  way  to  his 
room  for  confession. 

His  foible  for  the  Fire  Department  pursued  him  when 
away  from  New  York,  and  we  find  him  in  Boston  making 
his  way  around  to  the  engine  houses  to  see  "  the  boys." 
He  evidently  caught  them,  for  we  find  affectionate  letters 
from  them  among  his  papers.  They  even  went  to  the  Fire 
Commissioners  and  asked  for  some  testimonial  to  show  what 
they  thought  of  him.  The  Commissioner  gave  him  a  badge, 
which,  one  of  the  firemen  said,  "  The  Commissioner  would 
not  have  given  to  his  own  son." 

We  append  an  account  of  this  incident  taken  from  one  of 
the  Boston  papers  : — 

"  The  Rev.  Henry  Van  Rensselaer,  S.J.,  of  New  York, 
made  a  brief  visit  to  Boston  recently.  During  his  stay, 
Father  Van  Rensselaer,  who  is  the  Chaplain  of  the  Fire 
Department  of  New  York,  visited  a  large  number  of  fire- 
men and  heard  their  confessions.  Some  of  the  men  had  not 
been  to  confession  previously  for  years,  their  neglect  being 
partially  due  to  their  long  hours  of  service. 

"  Father  Van  Rensselaer  won  a  warm  place  in  the  hearts 
of  the  firemen  of  Boston,  because  of  his  kind  labors  for  their 
spiritual  good.     Wishing  to  give  him  a  testimonial  of  their 

281 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

regard,  they  chose  one  of  their  number  to  wait  on  Fire  Com- 
missioner Russell,  to  get  his  permission  to  present  the  Rev- 
erend gentleman  with  a  fireman's  badge,  as  it  was  intimated 
that  such  a  gift  would  please  him  better  than  money  or  any- 
thing else.  Mr.  Russell  did  a  very  courteous  and  kindly  act 
in  answer  to  the  request,  not  only  readily  giving  his  consent 
that  Father  Van  Rensselaer  should  be  thus  honored,  but  he 
would  also  have  presented  him  a  solid  goM  badge,  at  his  own 
expense,  had  not  the  rules  of  the  Jesuits  forbidden  its  ac- 
ceptance. The  good  priest  was  given  a  regulation  fireman's 
badge,  with  his  name  and  the  date  of  its  presentation  in- 
scribed on  its  back.  Father  Van  Rensselaer  is  the  only  man 
outside  the  members  of  the  Department  to  be  honored  with 
the  regulation  badge." 

The  following  is  the  letter  of  the  Fire  Commissioner, 
which  seems  to  be  an  answer  to  one  of  Father  Van  Rens- 
selaer, acknowledging  the  receipt  of  the  fireman's  badge : 

"  Fire  Commissioner. 
"  Bristol  Street,  Boston. 
"  My  Dear  Sir  : 

"  I  am  very  glad  to  get  your  thoughtful  note.  It  is  need- 
less to  say  that  my  remembrance  of  my  uncle,  Father 
Coolidge  Shaw,  draws  me  tenderly  towards  those  of  his 
Order.     Certainly  Father  Finnegan  is  a  trump. 

"  That  simple  badge,  not  of  silver,  is  a  slight  recognition 
of  the  feeling  you  have  inspired  among  the  men  who  know 
you. 

"  Very  truly  yours. 

(Signed)     H.  S.  Russell. 

"  May  14,  1898." 

282 


WITH  THE  FIRE-LADDIES. 

Of  course  the  policemen  were  "  held  up  "  on  their  beats 
by  this  spiritual  roundsman,  nor  were  the  station  houses 
immune  from  his  investigations  as  to  whether  officers 
and  men  had  been  faithful  to  duty.  Like  the  firemen,  they 
responded,  and  it  was  a  common  thing-  to  see  them  at  Mass, 
or  dropping  into  the  church  for  a  visit,  or  climbing  the 
stairs  to  see  him  when  he  was  ill.  Like  the  firemen  also, 
they  were  well  represented  around  his  coffin  before  the  re- 
mains were  carried  to  their  resting  place  at  Fordham.  There 
some  of  them  stood  at  the  grave  and  murmured  the  last 
prayer  as  the  coffin  was  lowered,  and  the  clay  was  heaped 
over  the  body  of  their  devoted  friend. 

Such  was,  in  general,  the  work  that  Father  Van  Rens- 
selaer chiefly  devoted  himself  to  for  many  years.  His 
methods  were  his  own,  and  were  spoken  of  with  disparage- 
ment at  times;  but  it  is  to  his  glory  that  he  brought  back 
many  a  stray  sheep  who  but  for  him  would  have  been  lost, 
and  went  far  afield  in  search  of  those  who  had  never  known 
the  faith  and  almost  compelled  them  to  enter  the  True  Fold 
of  the  Divine  Shepherd.  Had  it  not  been  for  his  aggres- 
siveness they  would  have  remained  outside. 


283 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

i 

Last  Illness  and  Death. 

ON  Sunday,  June  2,  1907,  appeared  the  first  symptoms 
of  the  malady  which  in  a  few  months  was  to  carry 
him  off.  That  day  he  had  sung  High  Mass  at  St.  Francis 
Xavier's,  and  after  a  light  repast  started  out  to  attend  an 
afternoon  meeting  of  the  Knights  of  Columbus.  He  got  as 
far  as  Union  Square  and  was  in  the  act  of  boarding  a  car 
when  he  fell  in  a  faint  to  the  pavement.  He  was  hurried  to 
the  New  York  Hospital,  where  he  presently  revived,  but  for 
the  next  ten  days  was  given  absolute  rest  and  allowed  to  see 
only  the  doctors  and  hospital  attendants.  In  falling  he  re- 
ceived a  severe  scalp  wound  which  also  needed  attention. 
Meanwhile  the  news  of  the  mishap  had  gone  the  rounds  of 
the  newspapers  and  was  received  everywhere  with  expres- 
sions of  deep  regret.  During  his  stay  in  the  hospital  no 
hour  of  the  day  was  without  its  stream  of  sympathetic  vis- 
itors representing  rich  and  poor,  Protestants  and  Catholics 
alike,  who  made  anxious  inquiries  about  the  patient  ami 
gave  expression  to  their  deep  personal  regret  that  anything 
untoward  should  have  happened  to  good  "  Father  Van." 
His  ailment  was  diagnosed  as  vertigo.  In  reality  it  was 
much  more  serious.  For  years  he  had  suffered  periodic 
attacks  of  gout  and  rheumatism,  which  for  months  at  a  time 
had  kept  him  confined  to  his  room  or  in  the  hospital.  After 
his  seeming  recovery,  he  made  light  of  the  mishap  and 
would  have  resumed  his  usual  duties  in  the  parish,  but  the 

284 


LAST  ILLNESS  AND  DEATH. 

physicians  prescribed  an  extended  rest,  and  by  their  advice 
he  repaired  for  a  time  to  South  Norwalk,  Conn.,  where  there 
in  a  country  house  for  the  Jesuit  Scholastics  of  the  Mary- 
land-New York  Province.  In  the  early  part  of  July  another 
change  was  made  to  the  Shrine  of  Our  Lady  of  Martyrs, 
Auriesville,  N.  Y.,  where  he  remained  until  the  second  week 
in  September. 

Though  relieved  during  the  latter  period  from  regular 
duties,  his  life  was  not  altogether  inactive.  Even  this 
isolated  spot  in  the  country  was  to  yield  abundant  oppor- 
tunities for  doing  good.  Within  a  few  weeks  his  spiritual 
influence  spread  out  among  the  farm  hands,  the  scattered 
groups  of  workmen  on  the  new  canal  along  the  Mohawk, 
and  the  men  of  the  neighboring  villages.  As  a  result,  several 
old-time  sinners  were  reclaimed,  and  in  one  instance  an  alli- 
ance that  for  years  had  caused  great  scandal  was  broken  up. 

Among  the  day-laborers  on  the  canal  he  discovered  a 
young  Frenchman,  a  graduate  of  a  Jesuit  college  abroad, 
who,  in  spite  of  his  education  and  evident  refinement,  could 
get  no  employment  befitting  his  station  in  life,  but  was 
compelled  to  earn  a  living  by  digging  in  the  trenches  side 
by  side  with  the  most  uncongenial  associates.  To  him 
Father  Van  Rensselaer's  coming  was  a  godsend.  In 
the  evening  they  would  sit  on  the  porch  of  the  little 
bungalow  that  served  the  Fathers  of  the  Shrine  as  a  shelter 
during  the  summer  months,  and  the  happy  youth  would 
forget,  for  the  time  being,  the  toil  and  heat  of  the  day  in 
the  sympathy  and  companionship  of  his  priestly  friend. 
Father  Van  Rensselaer  made  strenuous  efforts  to  have  him 
appointed  to  some  lighter  grade  of  work,  such  as  that  of 
timekeeper  or  accountant,  and,  though  unsuccessful,  his  in- 
terest was  as  sincere  as  it  was  commendable. 

285 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

During  his  life  Father  Van  Rensselaer  had  carried  on  a 
large  correspondence  with  all  classes  of  persons,  exercising 
thereby  an  apostolate  which  was  the  more  to  his  liking  as 
it  never  came  to  the  surface  and  was  seen  by  God  alone.  The 
number  of  these  letters  that  are  still  extant  must  run  into 
the  thousands ;  but  notwithstanding  a  public  appeal,  only  a 
few  brief  notes  from  his  pen  were  communicated  to  aid 
in  the  preparation  of  his  biography.  The  fact  speaks 
volumes  for  the  value  set  upon  them  by  their  fortunate 
possessors.  On  the  other  hand,  the  letters  of  which  he  was 
the  recipient,  being  largely  confidential,  were  scrupulously 
destroyed.  Only  a  few,  comparatively,  which  were  received 
at  Auriesville,  escaped  the  fate  which  befell  all  the  others. 

A  summary  of  these  few  will  enable  us  to  judge  of  the 
general  character  of  his  correspondence,  and  of  the  oppor- 
tunities it  afforded  him,  and  which  he  accepted,  of  working 
in  many  directions  and  of  extending  his  power  for  good  be- 
yond parochial  or  even  city  limits.  Among  these  letters  is 
one  from  a  penitent  of  his  who  had  gone  to  California.  The 
man  gives  a  good  account  of  himself,  for  "  he  had  made  the 
mission  and  is  working  steadily,"  but  would  like  a  letter 
of  reference.  He  concludes  thanking  God  that  "  his  hand 
is  fine,"  alluding  evidently  to  some  accident  which  he  had 
met  with  while  in  New  York,  and  owing  to  which  he  had 
fallen  in  with  "  Father  Van." 

There  is  a  letter  from  the  Department  of  Parks,  New 
York,  granting  permission  "  for  the  members  of  the  Xavier 
Club  to  make  a  satisfactory  use  of  their  permit."  In  another 
a  mother  writing  from  New  Jersey  seeks  his  advice  about 
sending  her  daughter  to  a  convent  school.  A  Californian 
pleads  in  an  eight-page  letter  for  his  active  interest  in  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  a  younger  brother,  a  Protestant,  living 

286 


LAST  ILLNESS  AND  DEATH. 

in  New  York,  "  who  is  going  through  a  heavy  strain  on 
mind  and  body."  A  French  teacher,  addressing  him  in 
French,  bewails  her  physical  ailments,  which  she  enumerates, 
and  entreats  his  help  in  obtaining  pupils. 

Another  post  brings  a  note  from  a  man  who  is  looking 
for  a  position  and  has  to  "  get  a  letter  from  a  well-known 

priest  to  Mr.  ,  the  head  of  the  firm.     One  from  your 

Reverence,  if  you  would  be  so  kind,  would,  I  think,  suit  the 
purpose.     Anxiously  awaiting  an  answer,  etc." 

This  is  followed  by  a  request  from  abroad  respecting  the 
"  whereabouts  of  a  poor  friendless  woman,  who  may  have 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  unscrupulous  men  or  women  anxious 
to  possess  themselves  of  her  savings." 

A  pastor  in  a  rural  district  writes  in  the  interest  of  a 
penniless  and  homeless  woman  who  had  "  lost  one  of  her 
limbs,"  and  has  sought  in  vain  for  admission  to  a  city  hos- 
pital. Would  Father  Van  Rensselaer  use  his  kindly  in- 
fluence for  the  poor  unfortunate? 

Then  all  the  way  from  Tennessee  comes  an  odd  petition 
from  a  poor  fellow  whose  foot  had  been  cut  off  in  a  railroad 
accident,  that  Father  Van  Rensselaer  would  "  see  the  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul  Society  in  regards  to  an  artificial  foot  " 
and  then,  supposing  his  petition  is  granted,  would  "  Father 
Van  "  work  for  his  admission  into  some  religious  order 
"  like  the  Trappists  "  or  any  "  Catholic  Order,"  for,  even 
with  a  cork  foot,  he  could  "  earn  a  living  and  prove  a  useful 
member  of  the  community." 

In  a  letter  written  in  French  from  Bo^ogne,  a  mother 
thanks  him  for  the  interest  taken  in  her  son.  "  My  mind  is 
at  rest  since  Fve  learned  that  Joseph  is  in  your  hands; 
he,  too,  tells  me  how  happy  he  is,  and  speaks  of  you,  mon 
Pere,  in  all  his  letters." 

287 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

Then  one  whose  husband  has  ceased  to  support  her  en- 
treats him  for  a  letter  to  a  certain  wealthy  citizen,  that  he 
may  be  induced  to  lend  her  a  thousand  dollars  to  buy  at 
once  a  desirable  house  in  a  select  neighborhood. 

From  Chicago,  a  woman  writes  for  information  about 
two  students  at  the  College  twenty  years  ago,  and  inquires 
for  their  residence  at  that  time. 

A  member  of  the  Boston  Fire  Department  is  on  his  way 
to  New  York  and  wishes  to  introduce  to  his  old  friend 
"  Father  Van  "  another  fire  laddie  from  the  Hub,  a  convert. 

A  young  lawyer  bespeaks  his  aid  in  securing  an  appoint- 
ment in  the  Lawyers'  Land  Titles  Office. 

The  acting  Police  Commissioner  answers  an  application 
of  Father  Van  Rensselaer  for  the  reinstatement  of  a  patrol- 
man recently  dismissed. 

A  young  man  in  Buffalo,  who  signs  himself  "  Your  af- 
fectionate son  "  and  is  seemingly  a  convert  of  Father  Van, 
congratulates  him  on  his  reported  recovery,  and  asks  the 
address  of  his  god-father. 

There  is  another  letter  from  .a  young  Frenchman  seeking 
employment.  The  same  day  his  influence  is  solicited  to  get 
the  writer  a  position  in  a  printing  establishment  in  New 
York.  A  young  man  who  thinks  he  has  a  call  to  the  priest- 
hood seeks  an  appointment  to  talk  the  matter  over.  He 
hopes  that  Father  Van  Rensselaer  will  remember  him  as 
the  person  he  once  called  "  Little  Jimmie." 

A  lawyer  expresses  the  hope  that  "  we  may  soon  see  you 
home  again  listening  sympathetically  to  the  troubles  of  all 
New  York,"  and  endeavors  to  enlist  his  co-operation  in  a 
real  estate  deal.  "I  think  a  letter  from  you,"  he  says, 
"  would  expedite  matters." 

And  so  the  correspondence  runs  on  and  on,  as  if  "Father 

288 


LAST  ILLNESS  AND  DEATH. 

Van  "  were  synonymous  with  a  Bureau  of  Vital  Statistics, 
or  an  information  or  employment  agency.  But  the  initiated 
know  that  he  was  but  a  zealous  priest  who  was  "  all  things 
to  all  men  that  he  might  win  all  to  Christ." 

Nearly  two  months  passed  at  Auriesville,  and  on  the 
whole  the  patient  seemed  to  have  improved.  There  was 
certainly  no  indication  that  the  end  was  drawing  near.  He 
went  about  as  usual,  was  most  attentive  to  his  religious 
duties,  the  Mass,  the  divine  office,  the  daily  meditation, 
the  examination  of  conscience,  and  the  rest.  He  also 
heard  confessions,  preached  a  short  sermon  every  Sunday, 
and  gave  Holy  Communion  to  the  throngs  on  the  pilgrim- 
ages. One  day  towards  noon — it  was  the  20th  of  August — 
as  he  was  reading  composedly  on  the  porch,  he  was  seized 
with  a  violent  spasm  and  would  have  fallen  forthwith  had 
not  a  companion  caught  him  as  he  collapsed.  Though  he 
soon  revived,  his  weakness  thereafter  assumed  a  more  seri- 
ous aspect.  He  tried  not  to  lose  heart,  but  he  could  no 
longer  conceal  from  himself  the  gravity  of  the  situation. 
A  week  later  he  wrote  the  following  to  a  friend : 

"  The  Shrine,  Auriesville. 

"  August  28,  1907. 

.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  I  have  had  a  set-back. 
A  week  ago  I  had  another  attack.  It  was  induced  probably 
by  a  long  walk  of  seven  miles,  the  result  of  a  drive  and  a 
breakdown  of  the  wagon.  It  is  discouraging,  for  I  was  be- 
ginning to  consider  myself  on  the  cured  list.  I  have  had  a 
very  useless  existence  this  summer,  chiefly  vegetating.  There 
is  really  nothing  to  be  done  here  except  enjoy  the  fine  scenery 

289 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

and  air.    I  am  anxious  to  get  back  to  work.     .      .      .      Give 
my  love  to  all  the  family  and  ask  their  prayers. 

"  Sincerely, 

"  H.  Van  Rensselaer,  S.J." 

On  the  same  day  he  wrote  to  the  Father  Provincial  for 
permission  to  return  to  New  York  and  take  up  again  his 
duties  in  the  parish,  thinking,  no  doubt,  that,  while  the  repose 
of  a  secluded  spot  in  the  country  could  not  effect  a  permanent 
cure,  he  might  as  well  fight  it  out  in  the  midst  of  occupations 
which  had  become  to  him  as  his  very  life.  The  Provincial 
wrote  back  encouragingly : 

"  New  York, 

"  August  30,  1907. 

"  Dear  Father  Van  Rensselaer  : 

"  P.  C. 
"  I  received  yours  of  the  28th.  I  sympathize  with  you  on 
account  of  your  temporary  set-back ;  I  cannot  think  of  it  as 
anything  but  temporary.  Be  not  discouraged.  The  doctor 
will  take  good  care  of  you,  and  I  only  ask  you  to  follow 
strictly  his  injunctions.  The  Lord  knows  best,  in  whose 
cause  we  are  spending  our  energy  and  our  life.  I  expect  to 
be  at  Auriesville  for  September  8th ;  shall  then  see  you  and 
talk  matters  over.  In  the  meantime  take  your  leisure  and 
do  not  worry  about  work  here.  I  am  not  forgetting  you  in 
my  prayers. 

"  Devotedly  in  Christ, 

"  Joseph  Fr  Hanselman,  SJ," 
290 


LAST  ILLNESS  AND  DEATH. 

There  was  nothing  for  him  to  do  but  await  the  coming  of 
the  Provincial.  So  sure  had  he  been  of  his  recall  to  New 
York,  that  he  had  packed  his  valise  and  was  ready  to  start 
by  the  first  train.  He  tore  open  the  envelope  in  nervous 
haste,  read  the  letter  without  changing  countenance  and, 
looking  up  at  his  companion,  smiled  sweetly  and  said: 
"  Father  Provincial  advises  me  to  wait."  He  took  the  ad- 
vice with  as  much  composure  and  apparent  contentment  as 
if  he  had  been  expecting  to  remain.  The  habit  of  obedience, 
strengthened  by  thirty  years  of  unquestioning  submission, 
is  not  apt  to  be  ruffled  by  a  trifle. 

He  left  Auriesville  with  his  mind  made  up  to  prepare  for 
the  inevitable.  He  felt  that  the  hand  of  death  was  upon  him. 
On  the  last  day  at  the  Shrine,  a  friend  who  was  under  the 
impression  that  Father  Van  Rensselaer  had  already  left  for 
New  York,  entered  his  room  abruptly  and  found  him  on  his 
knees  in  rapt  prayer.  He  was  not  very  hopeful,  and  said  that 
he  believed  he  had  only  a  short  time  to  live.  The  sequel 
proved  that  he  was  right.  A  day  or  two  after  his  return  to 
New  York,  Dr.  Delafield,  his  brother-in-law,  called  on  him, 
and  that  distinguished  physician  saw  at  a  glance  the  terrible 
inroads  which  the  malady  had  made  in  a  few  short  weeks. 
He  must  go  to  the  hospital  at  once. 

It  may  be  said  that  Father  Van  Rensselaer's  last  moments 
were  in  keeping  with  the  whole  tenor  of  his  life.  During  the 
three  weeks  he  spent  in  the  hospital  he  was  loath  to  be 
treated  as  a  sick  man.  He  would  not  lie  down  except  at  night, 
nor  part  with  his  cassock,  which  he  wore  constantly  in  prefer- 
ence to  a  garb  which  would  be  more  comfortable.  With  his 
accustomed  fervor  he  offered  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass 
almost  to  the  very  end,  and  clung  with  childlike  faith  to  his 
beads  and  his  crucifix.    Love  for  his  crucified  Lord  had  been 

291 


LIFE  OF  HENRY   VAN   RENSSELAER 

a  characteristic  devotion  of  his  life,  and  a  love  which  through 
all  the  years  of  the  scholasticate  led  him  to  make  the  Way 
of  the  Cross  daily,  was  necessarily  bound  up  with  a  tender 
devotion  to  the  Mother  of  the  Crucified. 

When  he  made  his  First  Communion  in  Paris,  his  sister 
Euphemia,  who  became  later  Sister  Dolores,  was  at  his  side 
and  received  Communion  with  him.  The  same  devoted 
sister  had  the  sad  consolation  of  ministering  to  him  through 
his  last  illness  and  of  remaining  with  him  to  the  end.  No 
more  touching  scene  could  be  witnessed  than  his  reception 
of  the  Holy  Viaticum.  He  lay  there  in  the  stillness  of  the 
early  morning,  quite  alone,  save  for  the  nurse,  Sister  Do- 
lores again,  and  the  Jesuit  Father  who  brought  the  Blessed 
Sacrament.  Father  Van  Rensselaer  held  the  altar  card  un- 
assisted, and  when  the  Holy  Viaticum  had  been  administered 
to  him,  Sister  Dolores,  kneeling  by  his  side,  received  Holy 
Communion,  too.  She  had  been  with  him  at  his  first  Holy 
Communion,  and  was  now  with  him  at  his  last.  The  priest 
left  them  alone  to  make  their  thanksgiving  together. 

As  the  end  drew  near,  a  fellow  Jesuit,  a  familiar  friend 
of  his  for  nearly  thirty  years,  whispered :  "  And  so,  Father 
Van,  you  are  going  to  leave  us ;  you  are  going  to  Heaven." 
Unable  to  speak,  he  nodded  and  smiled.  There  was  no  sor- 
row in  his  heart,  since  the  bitterness  of  the  chalice  he  was 
about  to  drain  was  sweetened  with  the  hope  of  a  blessed 
immortality.  With  St.  Paul,  he  could  truly  say:  "  I  have 
fought  the  good  fight ;  I  have  finished  my  course ;  I  have  kept 
the  faith.  As  to  the  rest,  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown 
of  justice  which  the  Lord,  the  just  judge,  will  render  to  me." 

He  expired  peacefully  on  the  3rd  of  October,  the  eve  of 
the  first  Friday.  His  remains  were  removed  to  the  Church 
of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  where,  following  the  custom  of  the 

292 


LAST  ILLNESS  AND  DEATH. 

Society,  a  low  Mass  of  Requiem  was  said  on  Saturday  morn- 
ing by  the  Provincial,  the  Rev.  Father  Hanselman.  There 
was  no  sermon  or  eulogy.  The  services  were  rendered 
more  than  usually  impressive  by  the  presence  of  His  Grace, 
the  Most  Rev.  John  M.  Farley,  accompanied  by  his  three 
Vicars  General,  besides  several  other  Monsignori  of  the 
Archdiocese  of  New  York  and  of  the  Diocese  of  Brooklyn, 
a  large  number  of  clergy,  secular  and  regular,  Christian 
Brothers  and  Sisters  of  Charity.  Fully  three  thousand  per- 
sons were  crowded  into  the  sacred  edifice.  The  Xavier 
Club  was  represented  by  nearly  its  entire  membership,  and 
there  were  large  delegations  from  the  New  York  Chapter 
of  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  from  the  Ancient  Order  of 
Hibernians,  and  from  among  the  firemen,  policemen  and  let- 
ter-carriers of  the  metropolis.  The  Archbishop  gave  the 
absolution  after  the  Mass.  The  body  was  then  conveyed 
to  St.  John's,  Fordham,  and  laid  to  rest  in  the  little  cemetery 
already  hallowed  by  the  dust  of  many  of  his  religious 
brethren. 


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Life  and  letters  of  Henry  Van 


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